Strange Things: Electric Jive Office Party 2015

Some strange things have afflicted us all this year - though we can't say they were wholly unexpected. South Africa faces some very serious challenges with corruption and leadership. It has been a year of  despair and at times feeling hopeless as we watch people of the world drift apart and resort to bombing and fighting each other. As if such behavior is ever going to solve anything! Time for healing, time for love!

As we approach the holidays I am hopeful that we can all find the time and motivation to step back, step aside, and find that happy musical space where thinking is suspended, time stands still, and your dancing feet switch into automatic pilot mode.

I invite you to groove to some timeless and rare funky disco soul produced during those tough times in South Africa. No matter the trauma on our door-steps, we took care to feed our souls and dance among those we loved, always feeling re-inspired!

So, enough venting and sermonising, let me share the Electric Jive Durban Office Party 2015 menu with you.

We kick off with the S.A. Supremes in 1973 chasing a funky rhythm guitar and organ-led groove, singing "Strange Things":  Oh, these strange things in my life, Why, they do go to me, Oh I need someone to save me, Oh, somebody come and help me. These Strange Things, they worry me so!".

We then slide off into 1977 for a beautiful funky and emergent disco anthem recorded by "The Drive", their last recording, just two weeks before Henry Sithole (that's him in Ian Huntley's picture above) and Bunny Luthuli (guitar) were taken from us in a car accident. Stretching out at over 16 minutes, the shimmering guitar, soothing brass, and rock-solid bass-lines of "Thando's Mood" will transport you to that  place where you slowly peel away those troubles, and decide it is OK just to let go, and go with the flow.

We slip back into 1976, with the wonderful collaboration between the members of the pop band "Rabbit" Trevor Rabin and Neil Cloud, along with Malcolm Watson, John Galanakis, Mike Makhalemele, Thomas Masemola and The Jo'Burg Strings. Written by Patrick Van Blerk and Trevor Rabin, "For you Only" is an extended 14-minute laid back disco-funk groove.

"Spirits Rejoice" hardly need an introduction, though not everyone knows they were the core of "Dr Rhythm", backing Paul Petersen's guitar upfront. Recorded in 1981, and written by keyboard player Mervyn Africa, "Hook It Up" offers up more than eight minutes of upbeat funky disco, with the likes of Duke Makasi blowing up a brass storm, underlined by Sipho Gumede on bass, and Gilbert Matthews on drums,

Rounding it all off for this Office Party is the full sixteen minute version of the 1978 hit by the "Nzimande All Stars", "Sporo Disco". Not yet featured on Electric Jive!

I wish all visitors to Electric Jive lots of love and peace over this holiday period - whenever, it finally gets to come your way.

My hands are a little too full to find the time to be able to put up two downloads - one with separated tracks, along with the tradtional mix-tape. So, please bare with with me and understand - I promise, in the New Year,  I will share the full albums that feature the tracks in the office party mix. Enjoy!

And just when you thought that was all! No wait, there is more! Thanks to an anonymous person with a big heart, there is now a site where you can hear South African and African music recordings that you did not know existed. Taken from master tapes and sound-desk recordings of live shows over the twenty five years, you can hear the likes of Tananas, Oliver Mtukudzi, Marcus Wyatt, Toumani Diabate, Gito Baloi, Kesivan Naidoo, and more to come. Phew! 

King Kennedy - Meeting Up (1975)

In the South African context of 1975 it's not difficult to imagine urban, affluent and politically conscious black consumers being drawn to this cover. Vinyl diggers and archaeologists have been similarly drawn in by the imagery and the suggestions contained therein. But all is not what it seems.

The record label on which King Kennedy appears is EMI Brigadiers, which came into being just two years earlier in 1973 as a joint venture between EMI and local company Brigadiers. In the Billboard report of the time Brigadiers was noted as the largest producer of indigenous product in South Africa. Brigadiers had been responsible for recordings by the Zorro Five, Buttercup, the Drakenberg Boys Choir, Min Shaw, Kobus en Hannelie amongst others. The new label continued with indigenous artists such as Pacific Express, Richard Jon Smith, Steve Kekana as well as artists signed to EMI internationally. Of the joint-venture, the chairman of Brigadiers, Albie Venter said "It's a breakthrough for South African independent record producers, artists and composers." (Billboard, 24/3/1973)  

The King Kennedy album is credited as "An EMI Brigadiers Studio production" and follows a similar South African pattern of record production and promotion where the performing artist remains uncredited. We had a similar conundrum with the 1969 Brigadiers released Zorro Five album Reggae Shhh (http://electricjive.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/reggae-shhh.html). With a little more research we were able to establish that Zorro Five was a group created and led by Zane Cronje, who won the Best Beat Group SARI Award in 1971 with Zorro Five. Cronje went on to create similar fusion for soundtracks the most notable of which was for the film Snakedancer (http://www.parisdjs.com/index.php/post/Glenda-Snake-Dancer-South-African-OST), that featured South African stripper Glenda Kemp and her python Oupa.   

Perhaps then it's no surprise then that King Kennedy is not the bearded and bare chested black man holding the flute with raised fist. It is the nom de plume of John Eric Boshoff (aka Johnny Boshoff), a leading session musician, composer and arranger. Credits for Boshoff pop up all over the place - he played with the Square Set, Neil Cloud, the SADF Band, composed and arranged a number of film soundtracks (see IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0097945/) and was a key figure behind the breakthrough album that launched Juluka onto the international stage (African Litany). Al Hall Jnr (from the Mallory Hall Band and the Kirk Lightsey album Habiba) talks very highly of him and Boshoff was the only South African to play on an all-star line-up for those recordings replacing Monk Montgomery who, for contractual reasons, could not play. 

Listening to the record today it's not difficult to imagine John Boshoff enlisting the skills of Zane Cronje for the album. Whether Boshoff enlisted leading black performers for this remains unclear but given that he worked extensively with Robbie Jansen on a number of projects I would surmise that it is indeed Jansen on flute. Requests for further information from Johnny Boshoff have not been successful.

EMI Brigadiers disappeared around 1983 although the Brigadiers name did continue to be used by Albie Venter for a film production company until his death in 1990. Take a listen and let us know what you think. More unknown pleasures?

King Kennedy - Meeting Up (EMI Brigadiers, RGL 1006, 1975) 
1. Meeting Up
2. Ride on Scorpio
3. Midnight Moon
An EMI Brigadiers Studio Production

 ENJOY! RS / ZS

Timmy Thomas Live in Africa (1978)

It is a good time to revive that anthem that made Timmy Thomas so special to millions of South Africans. Milner Park Stadium, Johannesburg in December 1978 was an edgy place for thousands of black South Africans to sing songs like “Why Can’t We Live Together” at a live concert. The song again became a big hit on the eve of South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994. For many, the song still holds relevance today, in South Africa and elsewhere in the world.

 Backing Thomas in this very funky and soulful recording are none other than one of South Africa’s most famous jazz-funk outfits, “Spirits Rejoice” with Joy bringing backing vocals:

Gilbert Matthews – Drums

Paul Petersen – Guitar

Mervyn Africa – Keyboard

Sipho Gumede – Bass

Duke Makasi – Sax

Thabo Mashishi – Trumpet

George Tyemfumani – Trumpet

Joy: Felicia Marlow; Anneline Malebu; Thoko Ndlozi.

You can find more about Spirits Rejoice on Electric Jive here and here and here. Spirits Rejoice also backed other visiting artists like Dobey Gray, Clarence Carter, Double Exposure and Leo Sayer. I am not aware of any recordings of these tours though?

 The original Why Cant We Live together album can be found over at snapcrackleandpops here.

Why Can’t We Live Together” reached number one R&B and number three Pop on Billboards singles charts in 1973. It went on to sell over six million copies, and was nominated for a Grammy award. This 1978 live recording has a great spontaneous feel to it - enjoy.

1. Why Can't We live Together (Thomas)

2. When a house got music (Dixon)

3. Rainbow Power (Thomas)

4. Sweet Brown Sugar (Wright)

5. Drown in my own tears (Glover)

6. Touch To Touch (Williams)

7. Sipho Mazibuko (Thomas)

8. Why Cant We live together (reprise)

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Roots (HSH 8000, 1975)

Roots were a short-lived band comprising Barney Rachabane (alto), Dennis Mpale (trumpet), Duke Makasi (tenor), Sipho Gumede (bass), Peter Morake (drums) and Jabu Nkosi (organ). Replace Jabu Nkosi with Abdullah Ibrahim, add Basil Coetzee on sax and you have the group that recorded the seminal African Herbs LP under the direction of Abdullah Ibrahim.

Roots are often cited as a key strand in the development of an indigenous afro jazz sound that links the Drive, the Pelican Club house band under Dick Khoza, Spirits Rejoice and later Sakhile. The liner notes (repeated below) make reference to the public performance diffculties of the times, something well noted by David Coplan in "In Township Tonight". There was nowhere left to perform this kind of music in the late seventies.

From the original liner notes: "Within two months of its formation, the group has already got down to composing and recording this LP. Barney Rachabane on the alto and Dennis Mpale the trumpet master are the backbone of Roots. These two have played with the greats, such as Mackay Davashe and Gordon Mfanda who were both nipped in their buds by an untimely death. Duke Makasi plays the tenor sax, Sipho Gumede is on bass, Peter Morake on the drums and Jabu Nkosi on the organ, The group plays Rock Jazz with a local sound. Their music takes one back to Dorkay House jam session days which are now no more. They play in private homes and intend making more recordings."

For a long time no recordings of the Roots were thought to exist but slowly we uncover the past through the artefacts we are fortunate to find. We hope you enjoy today's recovery. Highly recommended.

Roots (HSH 8000, 1975)
1. Jabu
2. Roots
3. School Girl
4. Emakhaya
5. Poor Mother
6. Barney’s Shoes
Prod by Almon Memela
New MF LINK HERE

Another Spirits Rejoice LP is found

Another surprise that none of us here at Electric Jive knew of. When EJ reader Molemo contacted me and asked if I would be interested in hearing the self-titled Spirits Rejoice album I was confused. The only Spirits Rejoice LP I knew of was 1976 African Spaces featured here earlier on EJ.

We now know that South Africa’s leading 70s jazz fusion band made another record, this time through Joburg records and distributed by WEA. This recording showcases a band that had diversified its style repertoire - remaining rooted in a fusion mould, with a touch of latin, in places it begins to show tiny glimpses of the emerging 80s smooth jazz trend that became so popular in South Africa.  Thank you Molemo.

1. Emakhaya

2. Woza Uzo Kudanisa Nathi
3. Music Is Our Purpose
4. Spirits
5. Happy and in Love
6. Confusions
7. Why All This Time
8. Papa's Funk

Robbie Jansen- Alto sax, flute, lead vocals
Paul Petersen- Electric and acoustic gutar
Duke Makasi- tenor and soprano sax
Mervyn Africa- fender rhodes, strings, acoustic piano and ARP synth
Gilbert Matthews - drums, belltrees, vibra slap and finger cymbals
Thabo Mashishi- 2nd trumpet
George Tyefumani- 1st trumpet and vocal on "emakhaya", additional percussion on "woza"
Sipho Gumede- Bass
"Joy"- backing vocals on Happy and in Love" and "Papa's Funk".

1978 Joburg Records, distributed by WEA records

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Joburg Love Trip Mix

Joburg Love Trip :: An Exclusive ElectricJive Mix
01 Bump Jive No 6 - Pts 1 & 2 - The Movers
02 The Webb - Makhona Zonke Band
03 Musikana - Harari
04 Somewhere There - Makhona Zonke Band
05 Johannesburg Love Trip - Thembi
06 Spinning Wheel with Lucky Mbatha vocals - The Drive
07 Sugar Pie - Spirits Rejoice
08 Loving Style - Mavis Maseko and the Movers
09 Lets Live Together - Mpharanyana
10 Joy - Spirits Rejoice
11 Please Tell Me Why - The Movers
12 Darling Darling - The Savers
13 Mary - Soul Brothers
14 Gimme Your Love - Margaret Singana
This one is specially dedicated to Duncan Brooker, Quinton Scott and Francis Gooding at Strut Records as a thank you for the brilliant Next Stop Soweto compilation series. Its about time!
RS/MF

African Spaces

For many the seminal Afro-Jazz fusion group formed in the musical laboratory that was the Pelican Nightclub in Orlando, Soweto. Criticised at times for being too intellectual this band was the genesis of Sakhile, Stimela and the individual careers of Bheki Mseleku, Mervyn Afrika and others. A re-issue was planned by David Mark's 3rdEar label just before the passing of Sipho Gumede but current discussions apparently revolve around remixing the original LP and excluding certain tracks. ElectricJive brings you the original LP and a bonus 45. Enjoy whilst it is still out of print.

Spirits Rejoice - African Spaces (ATH4010, 1977)

1. Joy

2. Standing Here Alone

3. Savage Dance and African Spaces

4. Mulberry Funk

5. Minute Song

6. Sugar Pie

7. Makes Me Wonder Why

8. Electric Chicken

Bonus tracks (from 7"):

I'm So Strong Now (What Does It Matter)

Shine On

UPDATED LINK (05/15)