Live in South Africa [Enhanced] [Live]

Live in South Africa [Enhanced] [Live]

ASIN: B00005BC6D

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Here's steel-pan player Andy Narell performing with a stellar band from South Africa. He wrote 11 of the 12 songs on this two-CD set, and they all display his distinctive compositional style of globally mapped contemporary jazz. For that, the band sounds easily as good, if not better, than any Narell has assembled, including the Caribbean Jazz Project, and his early 1980s band with guitarist Steve Erquiaga. The first CD features the Narell with a couple of notable solos from the sidemen, particularly on "Jenny's Room," but it is on the second disc, with its longer tunes, that the rest of the band is allowed more solo space. They don't disappoint. It's also on the latter disc--on "Chakalaka" and "Mpule" particularly--where the Johannesburg township groove that permeates the music of Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim, and so many others from South Africa is in Narell's grasp. Guitarist Louis Mhlanga is a revelation on "Chakalaka" and "Little Secrets," and every time the spotlight is turned on pianist Andile Yenana, he stands out with thoughtful solos. --Mark Ruffin

Tracks:

Play One For Keith
Kalinda
Out Of The Blue
Jenny's Room
Coffee Street
Hannibal's Revenge

Tracks:

Sugar Street
Chakalaka
Little Secrets
Heads Or Tails
Mpule
Oxamu

Amazon.com

Here's steel-pan player Andy Narell performing with a stellar band from South Africa. He wrote 11 of the 12 songs on this two-CD set, and they all display his distinctive compositional style of globally mapped contemporary jazz. For that, the band sounds easily as good, if not better, than any Narell has assembled, including the Caribbean Jazz Project, and his early 1980s band with guitarist Steve Erquiaga. The first CD features the Narell with a couple of notable solos from the sidemen, particularly on "Jenny's Room," but it is on the second disc, with its longer tunes, that the rest of the band is allowed more solo space. They don't disappoint. It's also on the latter disc--on "Chakalaka" and "Mpule" particularly--where the Johannesburg township groove that permeates the music of Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim, and so many others from South Africa is in Narell's grasp. Guitarist Louis Mhlanga is a revelation on "Chakalaka" and "Little Secrets," and every time the spotlight is turned on pianist Andile Yenana, he stands out with thoughtful solos. --Mark Ruffin

Customer Reviews:

rhythm in the blood.......2002-12-21

Usually I don't like this steel-drum-stuff. But this time I made the right choice. This music goes straight from your ears into your legs. Whenever I listen to this cd I can't stand still. I can literally visualize how the crowd went mad while they were on that concert. It's really worth listening at and maybe you may like steel-drums after all too. Have a try.

My First Andy Narell Title.......2002-01-20

I first heard of Andy Narell while I was listening to the NPR radio program, 'The World'. The played serveral tracks from this cd and I fell in love with it instantly. Since I have purchased it, it has remained in my cd player almost contantly. It is good to listen to just about any time. I have not heard any of Andy's previous cd's so I have nothing else of his to compare it to, but I can say that I really enjoy this cd!

Solid Live Effort.......2001-07-23

When I first heard Andy Narell on the radio in Chicago in 1979, I knew I had to add his music to my nascent jazz collection. This was right at the beginning of his career, before his Windham Hill/Hip Pocket association, before the Caribbean Jazz Project, before his Heads Up International association. He was on a tiny, now-defunct indie jazz label, the name of which slips my mind, and he was playing stuff I'd never heard before. Yes, I'd heard steel drum music before, and yes, I'd heard jazz before, but never steel drum jazz.

To these ears, his music was unique, and it has remained so throughout four decades. Indeed, he pioneered a new type of fusion--jazz and up-beat Caribbean. Dizzy and others had fused jazz with Afro-Cuban music, and Egberto Gismonti was fusing jazz with Afro-Brazilian music, but no one was doing what Narell did. If the trail he blazed hasn't had a lot of followers (one thinks of Monty Alexander's two ivory and steel discs and the Oliver Lake Steel Quartet's Kinda Up--a very fine release, by the way), it's probably as much because of the difficulty of mastering this approach as well as Narell's unique command of his instrument as any deficiency in Narell's music per se.

The jazz press has generally dismissed Narell, regarding him as Not A Serious Artist. And he's taken quite a beating from them on this latest release. No, it's not his best and it's hard to listen to both discs straight through without at least a little boredom setting in, but there's still a lot of very good music here. If you're at all interested in what I call jazz beat (real jazz filtered through the lens of some indiginous folk music), you really should check out Andy Narell. This is probably as good a place to start as any, seeing that his best discs, his Windham Hill releases Slow Motion (available as an import), Light in Your Eyes, Stickman, and Little Secrets are no longer available. Of the Heads Up releases, Beyond the Bridge is probably the best, but it's a little stripped down, lacking the impact of his usual kick-butt band.

In any case, do yourself a favor and check out this remarkable world musician.

I'm dancing.......2001-06-08

Listen, I know some people do not care for steel pans and for those of us who do, this is one great album. The band is fantastic and it will have you dancing and grooving. This is one of the best and groovy records I have heard from Narell in a long time even though I truly loved his last album Fire In The Engine Room as well.

A poor imitation...............2001-05-18

Wow..... I'm so dissapointed...

Tracks:

Prelude, Fugue and Variation, Op. 18
Prelude on 'Nun komm der Heiden Heiland'
Moment Musical in B Minor, Op. 16
Two Preludes Op. 32: No. 10 in B Minor
Two Preludes Op. 32: No. 12 in G-sharp Minor
Prelude and Fugue in A-flat Major, BWV 886: Praelidium
Prelude and Fugue in A-flat Major, BWV 886: Fuga a 4 Voci
Drei Intermezzi Op. 117: No. 1
Drei Intermezzi Op. 117: No. 2
Drei Intermezzi Op. 117: No. 3
Prelude and Fugue in D-flat Major, BWV 872: Praelidium
Prelude and Fugue in D-flat Major, BWV 872: Fuga a 3 Voci
Prelude and Fugue in D-flat Major, BWV 872: Prelude on 'Ich Ruf' zu dir' BWV 639
Prelude and Fugue in D-flat Major, BWV 872: Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 903

Customer Reviews:

A Triumphant Free Spirit.......2001-11-09

Awadagin Pratt is a free spirit. Not only does he sport luxuriant dreadlocks and sit on a tiny stool, but he also played piano incredibly well. Pratt can do whatever he wants around the margins, because he rendered an intensely dramatic interpretation of these immortal pieces, with a distinctly improvisational air in the rhythms.

Provocative and Beautiful.......2001-11-09

Mr. Pratt is an exceptional performer with a talent for stylizing within the most heatedly virtuosic material. His willful manipulation of tempos and dynamics, his varied articulation, as well as astonishing brilliance and energy, made for a provocative, electrifying performance.

Superb!.......2001-11-08

Acclaimed pianist Awadagin Pratt, known for his unorthodox style -- he sits on a bench very low to the floor. He also eschews the traditional tuxedo in favor of brightly colored shirts and gives the old masters something beyond the standard treatment. However, it's his splendid performance that really counts. His astonishing brilliance and beauty, the romance and lyricism, the incredible technique and prodigious talent, and his superb and imaginative repertoire transport listeners, levitating them into a spiritual dimension, where materials are immaterial.

Electrifying Performance.......2001-11-08

Award-winning pianist Awadagin Pratt plays with a full-bodied intensity that can be at turns intimate and grandly heart-wrenching. It's truly a electrifying performance.

Tsk tsk.......2001-10-13

Sadly, after repeated examination, it indeed appears that the soon-to-be 36-year-old Pratt indeed splices his recordings--i.e., he takes the best individual moments he can come up with to achieve superficial result. Personally, I prefer "honest" classical musicians when I listen to classical, as is generally the standard, though I suppose there may be those who simply want to hear what they want to hear for whatever reason.

Power of Our Music: The Endangered Species (Live in South Africa)

Average customer rating:

Power of Our Music: The Endangered Species (Live in South Africa)

Manufacturer: Indigo Blue
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0007YFWNY

Product Description

1. Stomp And Buck Dance 2. Inherit The Wind 3. So Far Away 4. Keep That Sam Old Feeling 5. Scratch 6. Life In The City 7. Always There 8. Way Back Home 9. Rockside

Average customer rating:

BBC Live in Concert
Hugh Masekela
Manufacturer: Strange Fruit UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Africa | International | Styles | Music

South Africa | Africa | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005R5VV
Release Date: 2002-11-26

Tracks:

Zulu Wedding
Serhasa
Politician
Tonight
Lady
Don't Go Lose It Baby
Montlalepula
Bye Bye Bethelezi
Stimela [Coal Train]
Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)
Jikele Maweni
Soweto Blues
Amampondo

Average customer rating:

Way It Feels

Manufacturer: Ronnie Scott's Jazz House
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000050XHE
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Average customer rating:

Live in South Africa 2000

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Reggae | International | Styles | Music

Live in South Africa - Generations to Come

Average customer rating:

Live in South Africa - Generations to Come

Manufacturer: IJAZZA Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000FCEOBE

Product Description

Born and raised in New York City, Rene McLean renowned Multi-reed Instrumentalist (Alto, Tenor, Soprano saxophonist, Flutes) began his musical training at the age of 9 under the tutelage and guidance of his father, world renowned alto saxophonist, Jackie McLean. As a young adolescent the young McLean was already performing with local R&B, Latin and neighborhood bands, making his major debut with his father's band in the mid-1960's while he was performing with other professional groups of varied musical traditions. Rene' continued his studies with the Jazz Arts Society, HARYOU ACT Cultural Program, the Clark Terry Youth Band, Jazz Mobile and later at the New York College of Music (N.Y.U.), and the University of Massachusetts. In addition, he studied privately with such Jazz luminaries as Sonny Rollins, Frank Foster, George Coleman, Kenny Durham, Jackie Byard, Barry Harris and Hubert laws. He has performed and recorded as a leader and featured sideman with the crème de la crème of Black Musical tradition such as : The big bands of Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton- All Stars, Tito Puente, Cesar Concepcion, Frank Fosters -Loud Minority, Sam Rivers- Studio Rivebea, Ray Charles Orchestra and the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra; to the quartet's ,quintet's and sextet's of : Horace Silver, Dr. Billy Taylor, Woody Shaw, Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Abby Lincoln, Little Jimmy Scott, Artur Prysoc, Doug and Jean Carn, Sibongile Khumalo, Jaco Patorius, Jerry Gonzales-Forte Apache to name a few, as well as in collaboration with premier poet-activists Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones), Jayne Cortez/Fire Spitters and as Musical Director/Composer for the production of Ntozake Shange's play " for Colored Girls", choreographed and directed by George Faison and "Oedipus The King" directed by Jonathan Wilson and many, many others.

Live in South Africa/ Live Fact (Import)

Average customer rating:

Live in South Africa/ Live Fact (Import)

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Latin Music | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CEE6LI

Product Description

1.i wonder.2.only good for conversation.3.can't get away.4.crucify your mind.5.jane s.piddy.6.to whom it may concern.7.like janis.8.inner city blues.9.street boy.10.a most disgusting song.11.halfway up the stairs.12.i think of you.13.rich folks hoax.14.climb up on my music.15.sugar man.16.establishnient blues.17.forget it

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music