Keep on Bumping with the Syndicate (1975)

On this Soul 102 offering of suspected moonlighting musicians the sax player on the first track sounds like Mike Makhalemele. Following the first long and groovy first bump track, there is a dose of soul from the pen of Babsy Mlangeni. 'Movin out', written by Zane Cronje, Pacific Expresse's keyboard player and composer, moves deeper into funk territory with plenty of waa waa guitar. The fourth track (‘Safa Saphela’) is a bumping funky cover of Johnny Nash’s 1974 hit ‘The Look in Your Eyes’ – written by Emmanuel Rentzos.

Soul 103 to follow in a little while

1. Keep on Bumping (15.00) M. Mhlanga

2. Thekeni (3.00) B. Mlangeni, H. Lebona

3. Movin' Out (8.00) Z. Cronje
4. Safa Saphela (8.00). E. Rentzos

Produced by Martin Mdelwa Mhlanga
Engineer: Peter Ceronia
A Sweet City Production (1975).

Enjoy

Watch out for "The Syndicate" (1975)

Bump, funk, afro-soul, and general get-up-and-groove kicks off ElectricJive’s festive season offerings in a quick-fire triple posting – Soul Brother 101, 102, 103.

Here’s a shady group of hot anonymous South African musicians moonlighting away from their usual recording contracts for producer Martin Mhlanga on the Soul Brother label.

Soul 101:- a solid fifteen minutes of bump jive followed by a deep funky nineteen-minute groove featuring top organ, guitar, trumpet and sax solos. Could that be Kippie we hear on the sax? Alan Kwela on the guitar? And that trumpet? Who knows – whoever they were, they could groove.

Talking about moonlighting anonymous musicians, Dabulamanzi tells me he has now worked out that the “Monwabisi” on our earlier Remember District Six posting, was indeed Winston Mankunku Ngozi himself!

Soul Brother 102 and 103:- to follow over the next few days.

Introducing: Syndicate
Africa’s ‘Bump’ Kings

1. Thula Mabota (14.55)
2. Watch Out (18.34)

Produced by Martin Mdelwa Mhlangu

Soul Brother: Soul 101 (1975).

Link

All aboard the Pacific Express

Cape Town's answer to Earth Wind and Fire with one of their sadly out of print LPs from the late seventies. They recorded three LPs - On Time, Expressions and Black Fire - which have been anthologised on two CD compilations put out by Mountain Records in Cape Town. The track "The Way It Used To Be" also appeared on the Africa Underground (Counterpoint Records) and African Disco (Nascente) compilations issued in Europe.

Pacific Express - Expressions (GULP903, 1979)

1. Look at the Smile

2. You've Got It All

3. Funky Sounds

4. Come True

5. Express

6. When I Think

7. What Is The Answer

8. Tired of Being Alone

9. What I Feel

10, She's Gone

Paul Abrahams (bass), Zayn Adams (vocals & percussion), Jonathan Butler (vocals & guitar), Tony Cedras (keyboards & trumpet), Jack Momple (drums & percussion). With guests: Barney Rachabane, Stompie Manana & Tully McCully. Recorded in Cape Town May-July 1979, produced by Tully McCully.

LINK

Sukasambe Seventies South African Soul Hits

This compilation of rather special South African 1974/75 Soul Hits is gleaned from two records on the Ring Label that revealed themselves to me on a dig last week. Under a stack of disused theatre seats there was this leaning tower of sleeveless dusty LPs. A fun weekend of cleaning, digitising and a little splicing brings you this soulful South African soundtrack , especially for one of those lazy days off work. Ring were targeting a diverse South African “soul-craving” public who, despite apartheid boycotts in the 1970s, were still getting visits from the likes of Tina Turner, Doby Gray, and Percy Sledge. These Ring compilations sprinkled in some international hits, but this mix focuses mostly on those composed by South Africans – see label pics for details. Not being in possession of the record covers I am unable to tell you who the performers are, except that the band was called "The Moonlight Expressions" – all help and suggestions are most welcome – please! What I am sure of is that there is an appreciable South African audience who, if they were to hear this compilation, will be transported back through an intense and soulfully ingrained lost sound-track from their lives.

Track-listing

1. Intro from 1975 record

2. My Friend

3. Nomali

4. Julia

5. Say It
6. Preacher Man
7. Lorraine
8. My Girl
9. Hot Coffee
10. Hot Tea
11. Tau Special
12. I’ll Take You There
13. Change My Mind

Link

Getting Funky with the Cannibals

Back into the Soweto Soul groove with this 1979 outing Get Funky from Ray Phiri's group The Cannibals. Phiri was to later form the group Stimela and work with Paul Simon on the Gracelands project. The Get Funky LP was recorded soon after untimely death of Jacob Radebe aka Mpharanyana's in 1979. No-one, not even the Cannibals, were quite able to fill the gap left by his passing. Enjoy!
The Cannibals - Get Funky (BL213, 1979)
1. Get Funky
2. Tell Every Mother
3. Angelina
4. I Want to Preach Love
5. Hlokomela
Produced by Marks Makwane
Paul Ndlovu (vocals), Isaac Mtshali (drums), Ray Phiri (guitar), Richard Shongwe (bass), Anna Sikwane (vocals), Ephraim Hlophe (keyboard)

LINK

Morris Goldberg's Urban Jazz Band (1975)

When talking of Cape Jazz pioneers Morris Goldberg’s name is usually mentioned in the same sentence along with Dollar Brand and Chris McGregor. This gem was recorded in 1975 when Goldberg was visiting South Africa from his New York base. Both Goldberg and percussionist Monty Weber were part of the “Manenburg” legend. Goldberg was the third saxophone player whose name does not appear on the cover credits. Read some of the back-story here.

Strangely, this record does not feature on Goldberg’s own discography. You can read more about Morris Goldberg and his band Ojoyo here.

MORRIS GOLDBERG AND CHRIS SCHILDER. ART CENTRE, GREENPOINT COMMON 1966 - PHOTO BY IAN HUNTLEY

Thank you Tony McGregor for making this album available for sharing.

Produced by Morris Goldberg and David Bravo. Recorded at U.C.A. studios Loop Street, Cape Town, April 1975. ATC 8000

1. Woo Woo (Bravo)
2. Urban Jazz Suite (Bravo, Goldberg) – runs on into “That’s What the Old Lady Said”
3. When She Kissed the Spanish Cow (Bravo)
4. Dance 4.3 (Goldberg)
5. Tina (Bravo).

Marc Duby: Bass
Cecil Ricca: Drums
Monty Weber: Congas, Timbales and Percussion
Morris Goldberg: Alto and soprano sax and clarinet
David Bravo: Acoustic and Electric Piano

LINK

Soul "ahem" Man Mpharanyana

"To the East of Johannesburg in Kathlehong, Germiston The Wavelets backed one of the most powerful voices in township soul - Jacob Radebe aka Mpharanyana. Some of the members of this band were Lloyd Lelosa who would later be a diligent producer and Stimela's keyboardist. Their hits includes Se Di Tsebise Mary and So Dull Without Here. In fact, Mpharanyana's career was mainly associated with three bands: The Peddlars of Springs, the Wavelets of Kathlehong and The Cannibals, whose members included Raymond Chikapa Phiri and Isaac "Mnca" Mtshali from Nelspruit. Most of Mpharanyana's hits were in Sesotho...One of the musicians who used to attend his recording sessions told me what I always thought was "style" was actually a coughing problem. The tape would be stopped so many times during recording sessions for him to cough, until one day his producer West decided he should just cough within the songs. To most people it became his trade mark." Max Mojapelo from his book Beyond Memory: Reording the History, moments and Meories of SOuth African Music

(The Peddlers later backed Dick Khoza on his seminal Chapita LP for the AsShams label.

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