Ogun

Take a look outside your window. We’re living through a particularly bleak paradigm, with ominous political shifts occurring around the globe. It’s time for a rallying war-cry, to tap into the power of our ancestors, to learn the wisdoms taught by history and its recurring patterns. It’s time to acknowledge the power of women, to burn with the fire of a banshee wail, to taste the energy of revolution and feel the inspiration of generations of resistance. And that’s where ASCEND, the second album by insurrectionary heavy rock trio Vodun, comes in. Ten slabs of ground-flattening, groove-inflected rock power, driven by the afro-inspired dervish drums of Zel Kaute (interpreting the spirits of Ogoun), the roaring, fierce chromium guitars of Linz Hamilton (The Marassa), and fronted by the fire-breathing howl of frontwoman Chantal Brown (Oya), delivering you the truth of generations with a drive and focus that can’t be matched.

Dudu Pukwana - In The Townships (1973) {Earthworks CDEWV 5 rel 1987}
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© 1973, 1987 Earthworks / Virgin | CDEWV 5
Jazz / African Jazz / World Fusion / African Traditions / Southern African / Saxophone

This glorious, ferocious recording is one of the pinnacles of the music created by the South African expatriates who settled in England in the '60s and melded with the free jazz community therein. Leader and alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana and trumpeter Mongezi Feza were twin fountainheads of this movement and are in rare form here, both instrumentally and as composers. The pieces here are largely riff-based, but what incredibly infectious and funky riffs these are. South African music emphasized the importance of various thematic materials by how often it was repeated in a song, and these guys iterate the melodies with a vengeance.

The Italian guitarist and bandleader Nicola Conte has recorded his first album for the legendary, recently re-established MPS records. Conte has brought with him his cosmic-cosmopolitan ensemble of stars which includes trumpeter Theo Croker, saxophonists Logan Richardson and Magnus Lindgren, and singer Zara McFarlane. For the most part recorded in Bari, Italy and Johannesburg, South Africa, it is a sensitive work of art that crosses the border between soul and spiritual Afro-jazz.Nicola Conte has cast his vision of cosmic jazz into a seamless tonal design – without restricting his players' freedom, leaving them open to the influences of the diverse cultures.

Dennis Warren's Full Metal Revolutionary Jazz Ensemble - 7 in One (1998) {FMRJE–Not On Label}
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© 1998 FMRJE | [none]
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Psychedelic Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Drums

The Boston-based FMRJE belies the notion that the only thing happening in that city jazz-wise is the bebop played by whippersnappers at Berklee. Drummer Dennis Warren is apparently the leader of this outfit. Not that the tunes are particularly substantive – they serve merely as springboards for the collective improvisations to follow. The soloists are without exception first-rate.