O.K. Jazz/Orchestres Bantou & Cercul - Pont Sur Le Congo

OK Jazz - Si Tu Bois Beaucoup


Orchestre Cercul - Honole


VARIOUS ARTISTS
Pont Sur Le Congo
1965

256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Pathé STX 183


Found this LP in a dollar bin about a decade ago and never gave it too much thought other than playing it a few times here and there on a sunny afternoon. Once in a while I'd cart it out to a gig if I was going to be playing a set of tropical beats but other than that it's pretty much escaped the ravages of entropy compared to a lot of my vinyl. While researching the recent Lumumba post I was surprised the learn that this is actually a very highly prized album among collectors with a copy in G to VG condition fetching anywhere from $50 up. Mainly it's due to the fact it includes hits by a nascent O.K. Jazz (from before the name change to T.P.O.K.) and it features a very early piece by Franklin Boukaka who would later help further Manu Dibango's career before his own life was cut short when he was executed by the authorities in '72 for his "subversive" music.

Wordsound Warrior and Musical Martyr
Franklin Boukaka ca. 1970

There are other reasons why this is a unique record, most of them revolving around the immense political upheaval and the development of Congolese popular music in the 60s. The title refers to the unique geographical situation of the Democratic Republic of Congo capital Kinshasa and the Republic of Congo capital Brazzaville as well as the metaphorical linguistic, racial and cultural bridge between them, the former city represented by O.K. Jazz and the latter by Orchestres Bantou and Orchestre Cercul. For an excellent accounting of this dynamic and turbulent period it's highly recommend you check out Gary Stewart's book Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos published in 2000 (you can read it at Google books here). He covers the musical scene of this time and place in considerable depth and within an historical context reaching back to colonial times.

No bridge so far

One of the keys to the popularity of O.K. Jazz was their synthesis of the Cuban rhumba with traditional Congolese rhythms and melodies which is definitely the name of the game on side one. Side two sees a bit more variety in tempo and rhythm although it's still anchored in Cuban idioms and there's a bit more action from the horn section. All in all a very enjoyable album and an important slice of African musical history.


O.K. Jazz - Tracks 1-6
Orchestre Bantou - Tracks 7,8,11,12
Orchestre Cercul - Tracks 9,10


1 Misele
2 On A Osé Le Dire
3 Polo
4 Bolingo Ya Bougie
5 Si Tu Bois Beaucoup
6 Le Temps Passé
7 Pa' Vacillar
8 Batous Pachanga
9 Mobali Ya Craneur
10 Honole
11 Endiable Merengue
12 Tout Brazza


Take it to the bridge with Soundological HERE or HERE.

Quincy Jones - Roots

Quincy Jones
Roots
1977

256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from A&M SP-4626


Continuing with more Afro-flavoured vibes from A&M, here's Quincy Jones' soundscape inspired by the 1977 TV mini-series Roots based on the genealogical novel by Alex Haley. Great book, good series, so-so soundtrack. However, this particular recording is missing from the extensive Quincy Jones discography at Blaxploitation Jive so it's another blogosphere blank filled by Soundological. Although this was reissued on CD in 1997, the awesome cosmic poster was only included in the original vinyl release making the $5 or less this LP goes for (even still sealed) more than worth the price if you ask me...makes me wonder why people would pay over $50 for the rare CD. Sorry if the scan on this one is not so clean but it's been hanging on my wall for 15 years.

Since each side of this record is a tightly sequenced suite of short pieces that clock in under 2:30 each, there was no point in breaking it up into tracks (much the same reason there are no links for the 82 musicians involved). There are some sweet moments in this effort, mostly revolving around Letta Mbulu (if you haven't already checked her album Letta then I recommend you head over to Djalma's Soul Food and do so now) and the Wattsline Choir, but it's a top-heavy affair talent-wise that never really takes off nor transports you into a cinematic headspace. That's not to say it ain't a good album, just that it's not for everyone - those that do love it are staunch fans as a perusal of all the comments on Amazon begging for another CD release clearly illustrates.


AMG Review by Richard S. Ginell
Quincy Jones has been threatening to write a long tone poem sketching the history of black music for decades now, and he has yet to do it. This project, rushed out in the wake of the 1977 TV mini-series Roots, is about as close as he has come. A brief (28 minutes), immaculately-produced and segued suite, Roots quickly traces a timeline from Africa to the Civil War, incorporating ancient and modern African influences (with Letta Mbulu as the featured vocalist), a sea shanty, field hollers and fiddle tunes, snippets of dialogue from Roots actor Lou Gossett, and some Hollywood-style movie cues. Only a fraction of this music was used in the mini-series; oddly, the most familiar piece of music, the often-repeated "Roots Mural Theme," is not by Q but by film composer Gerald Fried, who wrote most of the TV score. Though some prominent jazzers (Shelly Manne, Victor Feldman, Ernie Watts, Lee Ritenour, Richard Tee, etc.) turn up in the orchestra, there is not a trace of jazz to be heard. This is a timely souvenir of a cultural phenomenon, but merely a curiosity for jazz fans.


Featured Artists
Quincy Jones - Trumpet, Arranger, Conductor, Vocals, Producer
Letta Mbulu - Vocals
Caiphus Semenya - Percussion, Arranger, Vocals
Rev. James Cleveland - Arranger, Conductor
Wattsline Choir: Rodney Armstrong, Mortonette Jenkins, Charles May, David Pridgen, Sherwood Sledge
Lou Gossett - Vocals
Bill Summers - Percussion, Arranger, Vocals, Concert Master

Musicians
Zak Diouf - Drums, Vocals
Paul Bryant - Percussion
King Errisson - Percussion
Bobbye Hall - Percussion
Emil Richards - Percussion
Tommy Vig - Percussion
Milt Holland - Percussion
Shelly Manne - Percussion
Victor Feldman - Percussion
Dave Grusin - Arranger, Keyboards
Michael Boddicker - Keyboards
Ian Underwood - Keyboards
Richard Tee - Keyboards
Pete Jolly - Keyboards
Lee Ritenour - Guitar
David T. Walker - Guitar
Chuck Rainey - Bass (Electric)
Ed Reddick - Bass (Electric)
Arni Egillson - Bass (Acoustic)
Milton Kestenbaum - Bass (Acoustic)
Alton Hendrickson - Banjo
Catherine Gotthoffer - Harp
Dorothy Remsen - Harp
Ernie Watts - Woodwind
Jerome Richardson - Woodwind
Bill Green - Woodwind
Terry Harrington - Woodwind
Ted Nash - Woodwind
John Audino - Trumpet
Bobby Bryant - Trumpet
Buddy Childers - Trumpet
Dick Nash - Trombone
Maurice Spear - Trombone
Bill Watrous - Trombone
James A. Decker - French Horn
David Duke - French Horn
Alan Robinson - French Horn
Tommy Johnson - Tuba
Bobby Bruce - Violin
Gerald Vinci - Violin
Janice Gower - Violin
John Santulis - Violin
Sheldon Sanov - Violin
Bill Nuttycomb - Violin
Ralph Shaeffer - Violin
Joseph Livoti - Violin
Irv Katz - Violin
Erno Neufeld - Violin
Harry Bluestone - Violin
Bob Sushell - Violin
Joe Stepansky - Violin
Rollice Dale - Viola
Bob Ostrowsky - Viola
Alex Nieman - Viola
Marilyn Baker - Viola
Jesse Erlich - Cello
Jeff Solow - Cello
Paul Bergstrom - Cello
Ronald Cooper - Cello
Jim Gilstrap - Vocals
Stephanie Spruill - Vocals
Paulette McWilliams - Vocals
Deborah Tibbs - Vocals
Alexandra Brown - Vocals
John Lehman - Vocals
Linda Evans - Vocals
Alex Hassilev - Vocals

Tom Bahler - Arranger, Choir Master
Johnny Mandel - Arranger
Herbert W. Spencer - Arranger
Dick Hazard - Arranger

SIDE A - AFRICA (THE MOTHERLAND)

Motherland (0:29)
Roots Mural Theme (2:10)
Main Title: Mama Aifambeni (Premiere Episode) (1:03)
Behold, The Only Thing Greater Than Yourself (Birth) (1:30)
Oluwa (Many Rains Ago) (African Theme) (2:28)
Boyhood To Manhood (0:53)
The Toubob Is Here! (The Capture) (1:06)
Middle Passage (Slaveship Crossing) (1:15)
You In Americuh' Now, African (0:32)

SIDE B - AMERICA (THE PROMISED LAND)

Roots Mural Theme Intro (Slave Auction) (0:15)
Ole Fiddler (1:12)
Jumpin' De Broom (Marriage Ceremony) (0:42)
What Shall I Do? (Hush, Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name) (2:17)
Roots Mural Theme Bridge (Plantation Life) (1:25)
Oh Lord, Come By Here (3:25)
Free At Last? (The Civil War) (2:24)
Many Rains Ago (Oluwa) (African Theme: English Version) (4:50)


Research your Roots with Soundological HERE or HERE.(Sharebee is being a bitchbee so using MediaFire for the first time...let me know whatcha think)

Lumumba - Lumumba

Sing With The Birds


LUMUMBA
Lumumba (comes from the Center of the Earth with the World Beat)
1974

256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from A&M SP-3610


You may or may not have heard that Guy Warren (a.k.a. Khofi Ghanaba), master drummer of Ghana, passed away on December 22nd. Soundological featured him in a post this summer at which time there was not so much info out there on the man beyond the basic bios and discogs. As often happens, since he succumbed to illness at the age of 85 there's been a flood of obituaries, memorials and tributes hence more facts floating around , including a comprehensive pictorial discography and a bibliography to boot here. Googling his name today is more productive than six months past, so if you really want to dig into the history of this trailblazer, now's the time to do so.

So why is Soundological posting this album by Lumumba? Well, besides the fact recordings by Warren are stupid rare and we have no more to offer you at the moment, not only are the majority of players on the album from Ghana but there's a direct through-line from the previous post, Arthur Adams. Adams plays guitar on a highly sought-after album by the bandleader (and ex-Fela drummer), Rim Kwaku Obeng, released in 1980 called Rim Arrives (Discogs.com link - if anyone has a copy we'd LOVE to hear it) which was also produced by Kwaku Lynn. From what headz say, it's one of the funkiest discofied Afrobeat albums to exist and it usually changes hands for upwards of $100 if you can find it. His other releases under the name Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng on small indie labels and private presses are mostly solo drumming affairs and usually change hands for less than $10. You can check out a videoclip of him performing live and also an interview with him over at Sounds of Africa TV.

A very rare and expensive Rim job

The identity of the artist Lumumba is shrouded in mystery but a commentator on Crud Crud mentioned he might be Duke Lumumba. There are a few similarities in the line up between DL's album from the late 60s (George Bohanon plays on both and Crusader Wilton Felder plays bass on the recently re-issued Jungle Funk while sometime Crusader session man David T. Walker plays guitar on this effort) and both were recorded in LA, but the strongest thread is that Duke played trumpet and the person going as simply "Lumumba" here plays Flugel Horn. However, outside of this circumstantial evidence, there's not much proof that they're one and the same person.

Can there be only one?

Other noted Ghananians on the album are George Lee, (a sax player who is apparently notorious for his naughty behaviour as a touring backup musician and played on Toots & The Maytals' Reggae Got Soul with keyboardist Rentzos) and Eddie Quansah (who also played on the Toots LP, worked with artists as diverse as Osibisa and Slade (!?!) who now calls Australia his home) but both forsake their instruments of choice to provide only backing vocals. The remainder of the musicians is a mixed bag and includes the lovely & talented Bobbye Hall on drums as well as a handful of no-names who are invisible to the internet.

Since it's one of the only reviews on this album on the intertubes, I'll let crudmeister Scott Soriano tell it like it is...


Review by Crud Crud
I don't know the story behind Lumumba. All the musicians except for two are credited as coming from Ghana (the two non-Africans, West Indies and Los Angeles). Though the group is named after the singer Lumumba, it seems as though a fellow named Rim Kwaku Obeng is the leader of the band. Obeng has records under his own name and they are sought after by Afrobeat collectors. The record was recorded in Los Angeles, which is rare for an Afrobeat record. How is the album? Spotty and sometimes suspect. I am not sure if the musicians were cobbled together by A&M looking to break Afrobeat or if some American producer stumbled upon them in Africa, brought them to the States and put them in a fancy studio. Many of the songs are over produced and some sound very studio musicianish. The two I donate today are the best two cuts (Ed: "Sing With The Birds" & "Love Is"), both featuring the borderline schmaltzy poetry of Lumumba.


Lumumba - Narration, Doroben Durugya (whistle flute), Ammoo Durugya (long flute), Fritwiwa (thumb gong), Dawuro (gong gong), Akasawa (shaker), Jews Harp, Conga, Ntoa (round drum), Flugel Horn, Vocals

Rim Kwaku Obeng - Ntumpan (talking drum), Drums, Donno (squeeze drum), Fritwiwa (thumb gong), Akaswaa (shaker), Brekete Drum, Dawuro (gong gong), Conga, Ntoa (round drum), Electric Piano, Ammoo Durugya (long flute), Vocals
Emmanuel Rentzos - Electric Piano, Organ, Vocals
Luther Coffey - Fender Bass
Kwabena Gyanfi - Fender Bass, Electric Guitar
David T. Walker - Electric Guitar

George Bohanon - Bass Euphonium, Red Callendar-Acoustic Bass
Bobbye Hall - Conga
Victoria Miles - Vocals
Gloria Green - Vocals
George Lee - Vocals
Eddie Quansah - Vocals
Willie Cheetan - Vocals


1 Sing With the Birds
2 Ahoma Trofo (Telephone)
3 Twoo Boe (Work Chant)
4 Ananse Sem (Akan Folk Tale)
5 N.S.U. Shiw (Hot Water)
6 Love Is 50/50
7 Kwaku Ne Kwaku


Journey to the Center of the World Beat of the Earth with Soundological HERE or HERE.