Bheki Mseleku

South African pianist Bheki Mseleku has been a familiar name in England's jazz circles but, to date, has not recorded for any major or independent American label. This album, recorded mostly in London in 1991, has now been issued domestically by Rounder. While his percussive, slashing style is reminiscent of McCoy Tyner and Don Pullen, he has his own voicings, phrasing, rhythmic drive, and sound. A corps of talented saxophonists handle frontline duties, among them Courtney Pine, Jean Toussaint, and Steve Williamson.

South African multi-instrumentalist Bheki Mseleku has picked bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins for this session, and they really lift the music to new heights for the leader. Known primarily as a pianist, Mseleku plays a lot of overdubbed tenor sax on the date, ranging from breezy Stan Getz romanticism to Joe Henderson-like lyrical bluesiness, both styles are quite attractive. Mseleku's piano playing is world class, elegant, mostly understated, dancing, lyrical, and very bluesy.

On Bheki Mseleku's American label debut, jazz greats Joe Henderson, Abbey Lincoln, Pharoah Sanders, and Elvin Jones, plus up-and-comers Kent Jordan and Rodney Kendrick, join the South African-born London resident and his trio mates Michael Bowie and Marvin "Smitty" Smith for a diverse program of Mseleku originals. And the stars make their presence felt. The uptempo title track has one of the best Henderson solos heard anywhere. The beautiful "Through the Years" features Lincoln's lyrics and a heartfelt vocal. Sanders contributes some forceful tenor sax on the joyous "Yanini," while the bouncy "Homeboyz" puts the percussive piano vamp of Kendrick under Mseleku's alto sax. As for Jones, the drum legend proves he is also a master of brushes and soft bass drum on the introspective "My Passion." Mseleku primarily plays McCoy Tyner-influenced piano on this recording, but his tenor and alto sax work are more than adequate. Timelessness is an impressive American label debut for this talented artist.

Every generation has its own leading lights. For the current generation of South African young jazz musicians, pianist, and composer, Nduduzo Makhathini stands as a key torchbearer. It’s useful to note the refreshing virtuosity with which the 34 years old jazzman articulates a decidedly spiritual vision of the world with the piano, and his compositional clarity. Makhathini plays with a bright lyricism and a full sound pallet that gives him a markedly wide melodic vocabulary. His music is as open as it is invigorating. Makhathini commands the sort of remarkable talent and thematic focus that posits him among an illustrious pantheon of forbears. The late jazz pianist, Bheki Mseleku comes to mind as a musical stylist and visionary who sets a lofty precedence. Their music shares a comparative searching sensibility along with a keen spiritual focus.

On his milestone tenth studio album, In the Spirit of Ntu, the visionary South African pianist, composer, improviser, and healer Nduduzo Makhathini condenses the thematic, sonic, and conceptual notions explored over his catalog into a layered yet accessible 10-track album. In addition to Makhathini's influences such as John Coltrane, Bheki Mseleku, McCoy Tyner and Abdullah Ibrahim, In The Spirit of Ntu pulls his most foundational cultural Influences into a space where the sounds of the South African landscape are placed at the center of the nation's evolving jazz songbook. In the Spirit of Ntu is Makhathini’s second album to be released on Blue Note Records in partnership with Universal Music Group Africa, and the very first release on the newly formed imprint Blue Note Africa.

Equal Spirits brings together a genre-defying mix of South African spiritual jazz, ambient improvised introspection, bursts of old-school hip-hop and electronica, soaring melodies, synths, samples and gospel-infused grooves, woven together with sung and spoken languages from Zulu, Sotho, Yoruba and Xhosa to Arabic and English.