JAZZ ON CD: Gwen Ansell
THERE’S a crop of South African jazz releases, distributed by indie Sheer Sounds, this month. Paul Hanmer’s Trains To Taung is the pick, and not just because of the super-stylish liner notes printed on Chinese funeral money.
Pianist Hanmer has taken a very different approach to creating an African sound here, focusing on process, cyclical repetition and constantly changing texture, rather than noisy percussion and other Afro-clichs. Melodically, the compositions are slight – sometimes there’s barely enough to whistle – minor-key and, on first hearing, fairly Western in a David Benoit-ish way. But then Hanmer’s percussive left hand, Louis Mhlanga’s chiming guitar and Jethro Shasha’s wonderfully subtle drums spin them out into the kind of stuff you might hear in a San song-circle under Kalahari stars. It’s too soon to start calling album of the year, but this will certainly be a contender.
Another – except how do you find a category for a fusion that transcends genres? – is the Bruce Cassidy/Pops Mohamed collaboration Timeless. The album doesn’t have the unexpected magic of the duo live, nor does it go quite so far “out”, but it comes close. For the uninitiated, Timeless combines Cassidy on some trumpet but more EVI with Mohamed’s fresh and iconoclastic take on a dozen traditional instruments from mbira through mouth-bow to kora. The improvisations weave rhythmic, melodic and harmonic motifs; constantly surprising the listener. Like Hanmer’s work, this manages to escape conventions and subvert expectations.
Mohamed’s other release Society Vibe: A New Hope is the first fruit of his own Kalamazoo Label recording project; unashamed revivalism to keep the marabi/mbaqanga jazz genre alive. As such, there’s no ground-breaking innovation to get excited about here – just very accomplished instrumentalism, swinging tunes and solid, clean arrangements. Saxophonist McCoy Mrubata blows up his usual storm, as does his more mature reed partner Scorpion Madondo. The debate continues on how much this style still has to say; but that doesn’t stop the album providing straightforward enjoyment.
Gito Baloi’s Na Ku Randza moves the bass player into full-on Latin mode, with a dozen original songs and some fiery, stirring vocals from Chude Mondlane. There are times when Baloi’s large ensemble (George Lee, Bruce Cassidy and Vaughan Tromp all pop up) really catches fire. The arrangements, however, are often dated, overcrowded (there’s a real megadose of fuzzy guitar) and distracting. The lyrical quality of Baloi’s duets (with Mondlane, and percussionist Moss Manaka) and his smaller-group arrangements suggest he’d do better to let his lines breathe a bit more. Sheer Sounds plan to continue their South African showcasing: the next batch of releases will include McCoy Mrubata, Sipho Gumede and Zim Ngqawana.