David Borgo - Ubuntu

[Nate Dorward]

This one popped out of the mail recently & I've been quite enjoying it. It doesn't say so on the cover but it's essentially an Abdullah Ibrahim tribute--covers of eight Ibrahim tunes ("Tsidi", "Which WAy", "Blues for a Hip King", "Black Lightning", "Msunduza", "Gwidza", "Tintinyana", "The Wedding") though there are also covers of the South African national anthem & tunes by Curtis Clark, Winston Ngozi & Harry Miller (of the Blue Notes/Brotherhood of Breath). There's a rotating cast of musicians, including Anthony Davis on piano on most tracks & George Lewis on trombone on 3 tracks; Borgo plays tenor & soprano (& on one track, pennywhistle). Every track is pretty different from the other--many of them take an "outside" approach to the material, but there are a few pretty "straight" jazz versions too. One of the most enjoyably unpredictable albums I've heard for some time, & it's nice to be reminded of what a good pianist Anthony Davis is--I haven't heard him on disc for a while.

[Captain Hate]

This is a very enjoyable release; haven't heard some of these songs done for a while and that in itself is a shame. Dedication, a song by Winston "Monkunku" Ngazi, although it was dedicated to Coltrane and Horace Silver, sounds like something the Adams/Pullen band would do.

[Nate Dorward]

Actually, it's not a body of material I know at all well--I think I've only heard two or three of the original versions of the tunes (I have the duo album with Dyani for instance which is the source of one of the tunes). How do the readings here compare with the versions you've heard?

[Captain Hate]

I'm going from memory on most of these since they're all (but one) in the "vinyl annex" and have been inaccessible for years. Tintiyana (not as on the disc at hand, "Tintinyana" unless every other release is wrong) is on African Piano (solo) and African Space Project (big band), so this one fits right in the middle. The solo performance is very brief, part of a not-all-that-long (39 minutes) solo medley and the big band is pretty rocking, Bluiett and Carlos Ward are on it iirc. This quartet version holds up very well. "The Wedding" is on African Marketplace (a similarly sized group), African River with Ekaya and At Montreux (small group); again the originals are well done but this is good on its own. "Blues for a Hip King" was done solo on African Dawn; both are interesting because Ibrahim was such an interesting stylist and on the Borgo, Davis doesn't attempt to emulate him and succeeds within the group context.

One thing the group here does is effectively capture the sheer joy of music of this unique genre. I'll never forget the first time I heard Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath; the cut was "Mra" and I was immediately drawn into the pumping rhythms and crisp counterpuntal horn blasts that I'd never heard quite done like that before. That might be one of the alltime best first cuts on a release. Dyani's records on Enja Song for Biko and Witchdoctor's Son were similarly compelling. These guys are dipping into a very refreshing well.