Nice review by Stewart Smith in the current issue of The Wire: Adventures In Modern Music of the Cadillac/Ogun 50th anniversary gig:
For the latest issue I’ve reviewed the wonderful Cadillac/Ogun Records 50th birthday celebration at Café OTO featuring Mike Westbrook, Alexander Hawkins Jason Yarde, Neil Charles, Ntshuks Bonga, Steve Noble et al.
Check out the December issue here.
Jez Nelson put together a tribute to Cadillac and Ogun Records and a celebration of their 50th anniversaries on his excellent show Somethin’ Else on Jazz FM last Sunday night.
Over three hours he provides a thorough overview of the history of both labels and features music from Mike Westbrook, Louis Moholo-Moholo, The Brotherhood of Breath, Harry Miller, Elton Dean, Joy and many others. Listen again at this link…
“A cleverly constructed and joyous evening”
The words of Geoff Winston, in his beautiful review for London Jazz News, reflecting on the Cadillac & Ogun records joint 50th anniversary celebration at Café OTO on 28th September.
Recently rediscovered and remastered footage of The Blue Notes playing at Ronnie Scott’s Old Place held us spellbound, the great Mike Westbrooke took to the stage with Chris Biscoe to enchant us with an “unpremeditated” collaboration, and Alex Hawkins’ septet rounded off the night with a transcendent intensity well worthy of the occasion.
Many, many thanks to all who have been part of the Cadillac and Ogun stories over the years – too many to mention – and to the staff at Café OTO. Photos below courtesy of Riccardo Bergerone and Karen Wishbone. See also the Cadillac facebook page for more pics and this review (in Italian) in Roman ‘communist’ newspaper Il Manifesto.
The Blue Notes embody the beauty of South African jazz in the 1960s, and the dynamics of its struggles during and against apartheid.
Lindelwa Dalamba
Check out some amazing early pictures of the Blue Notes and interesting commentary on their origin in Apartheid South Africa by Lindelwa Dalamba, Music lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand, published on The Conversation blog.
A long-out-of-print slice of solo Chris McGregor gets a repress!
Chris McGregor – In His Good Time
International release date: 24 Feb 2023
Order on Bandcamp
“This music is dedicated to the ONE who brings all things to be in His Good Time.”
“Chris McGregor, who died in 1990 in his adopted homeland of France, rarely recorded solo. Two albums for the French Musica label have long been collectors’ items, as has In His Good Time, recorded at a Paris concert in 1977 and first released by Ogun in 1979. The CD version comes with around 40 minutes of additional material and presents the first set of the concert in its entirety, followed by five tunes from the second set. The sound, using the original analogue tapes, is excellent.
“McGregor had a thick, rolling piano style, more or less equal parts jazz and traditional black South African music; like township jazz in general, his playing had the emotional intensity of African American gospel music and touched the same bases. On In His Good Time he plays a mixture of originals and traditional folk tunes, along with Mongezi Feza’s “Sonia” and Dudu Pukwana’s “The Bride.” There is a purity—a straightforward joy—in McGregor’s performances, which communicates itself powerfully. The 54-minute first set is played as a continuum, uninterrupted by opportunities for audience applause, and becomes pleasingly hypnotic.”
– Chris May, All About Jazz, July 30 2012
Recorded in concert at the Palais des Glaces, 37 rue du Faubourg du Temple, Paris on Friday 18 November 1977 by Ron Barron.
A most welcome reappearance on CD for this little beauty! Perhaps, and if so unjustly, one of the lesser known treasures of the Ogun catalogue, what we have here are two slices of prime Coxhill from the late 70s – the Ogun LPs “Diverse” (from 1977) and “The Joy of Paranoia” (1978). Always one to eschew the normal parameters of music-making, Coxhill exults in a variety of settings from solo up to quartet, and flits with abandon between genres, often within the same piece. Listen and purchase on Bandcamp.
“In all, this is a fine retrospective view of Coxhill, even if it is only for two years. This was a particularly fertile period for him, and listeners will be more than gratified by its breadth and scope.” – Thom Jurek, AllMusic.com
Anticipation builds as the release date approaches for our second duo of Blue Notes reissues – Blue Notes For Mongezi and Blue Notes For Johnny – following the recent release of Blue Notes – Legacy Live In South Afrika 1964 and Blue Notes In Concert in April.
The two ‘tribute’ albums are first and foremost outpourings of grief and loss from the surviving band members following the tragic early demise of their brothers-in-arms, first Mongezi and 11 years later Mbizo. Yet the awful circumstances of the creation of the two ‘tributes’ led to a particular level of emotion that yielded music-making of the very highest order.
Absolutely unique and essential items both, the expanded CD editions of Blue Notes For Mongezi and Blue Notes For Johnny are released as individual stand alone titles on 10th June. Available on CD from your local record shop, or on CD / Digital from Bandcamp through the Shop link above.
The reissues have been receiving praise in the press. See this review by Pete Margasak @pmarg for his ever excellent column in The Quietus of the Blue Note reissues. As he says, “Don’t sleep on this history.” And see also this great article by Chris May in All About Jazz. “The Blue Notes’ fiery kwela-flavoured jazz lit up the British scene. But its upbeat vibe commingled with sadness about separation from family, friends and roots back in South Africa…”
That is, according to the new full length review of the four Blue Notes CDs by Jon Turney for London Jazz News:
“If you’ve lived with the UK-made sessions, in one form or another, for decades, as I have, it is immeasurably satisfying to see them once again on CD. If you sense the lasting influence of this group on the music being made now and want to dig deeper, they are the best possible place to start. If you want to hear some of the most vibrant music made in this country in the last 50 years, then dig in.”
Reissues of Blue Notes In Concert and Legacy – Live In South Afrika 1964 are available on CD now, with Blue Notes for Mongezi and Blue Notes for Johnny to follow on June 10th.
It’s with a real sense of loss that we learned of the passing of our great friend Victor Schonfield. Victor was a presence of enormous significance in the world of improvised music, as a teacher, a promoter, a fund of knowledge, a generous and open man. He was kind and always ready to help. Everything he did, and Victor’s range of activities were extraordinary, was done for the love of the music, and to support the artists he loved. From promoting the very first Sun Ra concert in the UK to championing great British musicians such as Bobby Wellins and Stan Tracey, he was indefatigable. We will miss him. Our thoughts are with his family.
– Hazel Miller, Mike Gavin, on behalf of Cadillac Records and Ogun Recordings
They All Be On This Old Road found favour with the press, as evidenced by this summary…
“This session, enhanced by Dean’s tone and vibrato, Tippett’s deft touch and high creativity, Lawrence’s alert agility and Moholo-Moholo’s watchful empathy, has got a lovely vibe.”
– Ian Ward, for UKVibe
“Superb. Buy it”
– Barry Witherden, for Jazz Journal, UK
“Fougueux, parfois apre et rugueux, le saxophoniste est sans doute au sommet de son art. L’occasion, grace a cette toute premiere edition en CD, de redecouvrir un saxophoniste largement sous-estime”
“Fiery, sometimes raw and rough, the saxophonist is undoubtedly at the top of his art. The opportunity, thanks to this very first CD edition, to rediscover a largely underestimated saxophonist”
– Jean-Pierre Vidal, for Jazz Magazine, France
“…the generous gft that just keeps on giving.”
– Chris Phillips, The Blueprint, Jazz FM, UK
“Of all the jazz albums that have burst into sound in 2021, my favourite is They All Be On This Old Road… Spirits of past musical heroes here, uniting in a spellbinding session of sonic marvels.”
– Chris Searle, for The Morning Star, UK
“Tutto da applausi, sia il concerto sia la pubblicazione di questa nuova edizione.”
– Musica Jazz, Italy
“A gem from a bygone era.”
– Editor’s Choice, Jazzwise, UK
“Captures an important, if somewhat unheralded, group at its best.”
– London Jazz News, UK
Ogun Recordings