#fusion Jazz

[phonographica]

Cedar Walton ‎– Mobius (1975)

[pesura]

album stream: Hatti Vatti - Zeit (R&S, 2024)

[mywifeleftme]

314: Manu Dibango // O Boso

O Boso Manu Dibango 1972, London Records

In 2014, a Discogs user who goes by the handle nyuorican wrote on the page for Manu Dibango's O Boso/Soul Makossa, “Such an amazing album, musically it deserves to be like a $500 album easily, we're so lucky a lot were pressed up and kept circulating.” As criticism it’s not making Craig Jenkins sweat or anything, but it’ll probably be a more decisive assessment for anyone curious about Afro-jazz/funk of whether to listen than any of my blather. Original copies of stuff this good in this genre from this region almost invariably costs the same as a dog bred like a Spanish Habsburg, but thanks to the worldwide success of its pioneering single “Soul Makossa” this shouldn’t run you much more than $20. That’s a steal for music that grooves like this does.

Dibango wrote and arranged everything here and, as his note on the back cover makes explicit, his goal is to pay tribute to the common African roots of contemporary global Black music (jazz, soul, calypso, samba, etc.) via fusion. The Cameroonian sax giant surrounds himself with a crack band of African, Caribbean, and French jazz players, and the sheer variety of skills they bring to the table gives him great latitude to explore. The chords of “Dangwa” have the joyous lilt of African dance music but the bassline could be an R&B banger, while Dibango’s freaky sax runs are straight modal jazz. “Hibiscus” is soul jazz that would make Roy Ayers proud, Dibango’s horn blowing a lonely mating call while the casually funky electric piano, congos, and wacka-wacka guitar sketch an image of a hot city night after the clubs let out.

Of course, it’s “Soul Makossa,” an emissary of the makossa sound of Cameroon that predicts the disco wave, that towers over the rest in terms of influence, and it’s difficult to imagine how novel its minimalist percussive strut, echoing Duala-language ad libs, and deluxe horn hits must’ve sounded in the era. It’s one of those records where you can hear a bit of everything that was to come in Black music, from Chic to Kurtis Blow to Prince—partially because it’s been so frequently sampled that it literally is a bit of everything that was to come in Black music. But don’t sleep on opener “New Bell” either, a less hooky track in the same general mold, but one that rolls extremely deep.

314/365

[freshthoughts2020]

🔥🔥🔥📝

[made-music]

Lust for a Polymoog

If I could afford a polymoog… I would own a polymoog… 😭🎘🎹

[spacevixenmusic]

Another wip for the upcoming new album I've been talking about for like a year now! this one is about shepherds watching over a forest full of unicorns at sunset or something...

I really need to make more slow-jam type songs!

[pistakkiomusic]

Discover Pistakkio Music Weekly Archive on Spotify. The best Jazz songs for you. Subscribe and Follow here and on Spotify!

[rafikny]

I’m always blown away by the sound of Japanese jazz from the 70s. Still phresh.

[jtristan]

background jazz N°37 'A Midnight Christmas Alone'

Thank you for listening to "A Midnight Christmas Alone." This album brings you the gentle sounds of Christmas with a touch of soulful jazz piano, blending beautifully with saxophone, guitar, and electric keys to create a warm, peaceful ambiance for the season. Perfect for working, relaxing, or simply unwinding.

[nolanguageep]

Allexa Nava at Jazz Refreshed - 19.09.24

[meekoftheweek]

I love fusion jazz so much

takanaka is so unbelievably good like how does bros guitar sound so beautiful

[phonographica]

Euglossine - Librarian (2018)

[pesura]

album stream: Mammal Hands - Gift from the Trees (Gondwana, 2023)

[thesobsister]

Mark Hartsuch (sax), Mohini Dey (bass), Gino Banks (drums) = MaMoGi. And if you’re in the mood for the kind of funky fusion that boasts chops for days, this is “Buttery Buns.”