One for Joe

My introduction to the warm sounds of Joe Malinga came in the early 1980s on an LP buying trip at Manhattan Records in Durban near Point Road by the seafront. Manhattan used to import directly from the UK so it was one of the few places you could find punk, post-punk, reggae, jazz and other "counter-cultural" musics. The LP I am sharing with you today - One for Dudu - was playing on the speakers and it hooked me big time. He dedicates the LP to Dudu and in his work you can hear the shared spirit although Joe is probably not as single minded about his solo's as Dudu. I couldn't beleive that he was playing with European jazz musicians who had somehow grasped the sound. I took the LP home and have treasured it ever since. Later on in the 1980s whilst sitting out my time in London avoiding military service I used to visit Ray's Jazz Shop on Shaftsbury Avenue every week where there was a dedicated section for the Ogun releases and music from various other South African jazz exiles. I picked up Joe's other two LPs Sandile and Tears for the Children of Soweto. Last month I completed the collection with the 1989 LP Vuka.

If anyone has further background please contribute by posting a comment below. I have provided the discography and beleive that Joe probably went into exile in 1979/80 or earlier. In 1985 he was back in South Africa doing promotional and cultural work. It appears he was teaching at the University of Venda a couple of years ago but beyond that all we have is the music. And what great music it is. If the One for Dudu LP whets your appetite I'm afraid that all there is beyond that is the CD compilation issued by Brambus and available to purchase here. You can listen to the CD here. I haven't seen many of his LPs come up on eBay.

So here is the Joe Malinga discography.




Joe Malinga's Mandala feat. Clifford Thornton - Tears for the Children of Soweto (Canova 113, 1980)
1. Umdrah
2. African Mood
3. Tears
4. Usizi
5. Senecho
6. Nina's Dance
7. Jabula
Joe Malinga (as, fl, voc), Runo Ericksson (b-tb), Clifford Thornton (v-tb, perc) on #1-5, 7; Jurgen "Jux" Seefelder (ts) on #1-5, 7; Walter Gauchel (ts) on #1-5, 7; Johnny "Manhattan" Taylor (p) on #1-5, 7; Mike Guilford (b) on #1-5, 7; Bruning v. Alten (d) on #1-5, 7; "Chris" (foot calabash) on #6.
Recorded Feb 5&6 1980, Phonag-Studio, Lindau, Zurich (Switzerland)



Joe Malinga Quintet - One For Dudu (Meteor 32018, 1981)
1. Kipit
2. Imbhali
3. Zadibana
Joe Malinga (as, perc), René Widmer (ts, oboe), Johnny Taylor (p), Hämi Hämmerli (b), Churchill Jolobe (dr)
Recorded Nov 7, 1981, Tonstudio Stroher, Innsbruck (Austria)
LISTENING TIME



Joe Malinga & Southern Africa Force - Sandile (Meteor 32034, 1983)
1. Ekapa
2. No Net
3. Two Sticks
4. Emsunduza
5. Imbhali
6. Asambheni
Joe Malinga (as, bar, perc, ss, voc), René Widmer (bar, ts), Jürgen Seefelder (ts), Joep Maessen (tb), Johnny Taylor (p), Essiet Essiet (b), Don Mumford (d).
Recorded Oct 30&31, Soundville Studios, Luzern (Switzerland)



Joe Malinga Southern Africa Force - Vuka (Planisphere PL 1267-43, 1989)
1. Penzi
2. Wish You Sunshine
3. Vuka
4. iTwenty-Five
5. Vivi
Joe Malinga (as,v), Monty Waters (as), Paul Stocker (ss,as), David George (tr), Atiba Bakr (ts), Steve Galloway (tb), Mario Canonge (pn), Paplo Nahara (b), Clarence Becton (dr). Recorded and mixed at Studio Friends Amsterdam by Paul Holland, 1989. Arrangements by Joe Malinga, Steve Galloway and Paul Stocker. Produced by Joe Malinga and Plainisphere.

Other albums as sideman:
Chris McGregor and the South African Exiles - Thunderbolt (PAM405 CD only, original recording 1986)
Francois Buttet - Ogun (Plainisphere 1267-55CD, 1992)

One for Dudu

Barely back on my feet again after a busy two weeks in Johannesburg, Durban and Dubai. Friends, family, musical heroes, like-minded archivists and enthusiasts and then a whole lot more. One of the many incredible LPs uncovered during my visit is the debut LP from Dudu Pukwana as band leader. This was recorded in the UK in May 1969 and includes Richard Thompson on guitar. For further reading on Dudu and his jazz compatriots The Blues Notes I suggest heading over to Mike Fowlers excellent Blue Notes website.

These other resources are also worth checking out:
DUDU AT WIKI
DUDU DISCOGRAPHY

Dudu Pukwana and the Spears (Quality LTJ-S 232, 1969)
1. Pezulu (Way Up)
2. Thulula (Fill It Up)
3. Kuthwasi Hlobo (Spring)
4. Half Moon
5. Yima Njalo (Stick Around)
6. Kwa Thula (Thula’s Place)
7. Joe’s Jika (Joe’s Groove)
8. Nobovmu (Red Head)
9. Qonqoza (Knock)
LISTENING TIME

What Rashid wanted

Short post before I leave tonight for Tekwini, Jozi and Dubai mixing day job (telecommunications), night job (music archeologist) and pleasure. On the seminal Mannenberg LP Abdullah Ibrahim is quoted: "Is this what Rashid Vally wanted?". Rashid is of course the key independent jazz producer from the seventies whose family owned the Kohinoor store in downtown Johannesburg. Next week I hope to post some updated pictures from Kohinoor and of Rashid himself. It will be an honour to spend time with a man whose legacy to South African jazz is immeasureable.

Ancient to the future

Soon via STRUT and lined up for release after the Horace Andy/Ashley Beedle collaboration. Check out this interview with Mulatu taken from the time when he was recording the LP with the Heliocentrics.


The initial PR for the LP goes something like this: "The original Ethio-jazz legend enters the fray. The Ethiopiques album series has steadily gathered steam in recent years, culminating in two huge shows during June 2008 at Barbican and Glastonbury. Raiding the archives of small studios and radio stations in Addis Ababa from the ‘70s, the series has been a revelation, unearthing a true fusion of funk, soul and jazz with five- tone Ethiopian scales and traditional instrumentation and vocals. The ringleader of those recordings, vibesman and percussionist Mulatu Astatke, now embarks on his first studio album for over 20 years. The collaboration follows a sell-out gig at Cargo and a Gilles Peterson Maida Vale session earlier this year with The Heliocentrics (Stones Throw Records). Responsible for backing DJ Shadow, laying down beats for Madlib and Yesterday’s New Quintet and for fusing influences as diverse as Sun Ra, Axelrod, James Brown and Morricone on their debut album, the Helios, led by drummer Malcolm Catto and bassist Jake Ferguson, have fast become a unique powerhouse of free-thinking beatsmithery. At Cargo in London, they backed Mulatu on a full set of his Ethiopiques classics, brought together and presented by Karen P’s Broadcasting and Red Bull. Since then, the process around the new recordings has been in full flow with Mulatu now back in Addis Ababa armed with a Heliocentrics CD of groove ideas and riffs. As well as writing his own vibes and keyboard parts, Mulatu is using the project to build in some of the stunning indigenous sounds from Ethiopia, inviting tribespeople to record local instruments and vocal parts for the sessions. “I have always wanted to involve Ethiopian cultural instruments in Ethio-jazz, playing Western 12-tone music,” explains Mulatu. “We’ll be experimenting – the musicians in The Heliocentrics are so great and I think we will make a wonderful album.” The project culminates in a full recording week at Heliocentrics studio in London during the first week of September 2008 and a full live tour during Spring 2009"