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Strut
Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids – We Be All Africans
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Visit product page →Strut are proud to present the brand new studio album from West Coast jazz mavericks, The Pyramids, led by their inspirational bandleader, Idris Ackamoor.
Alto saxophonist Ackamoor first met Margo Simmons (flute) and Kimathi Asante (electric bass) whilst students together at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio where one of their teachers was renowned pianist, Cecil Taylor. After founding the band in Paris in 1972, performing in Holland and embarking on a “cultural odyssey” across Africa, the group recorded three independent albums (Lalibela in 1973, King Of Kings in 1974 and Birth / Speed / Merging in 1976) and became renowned for their striking live shows, mixing percussive, spiritual and space-age jazz with performance, theatre, and dance. After migrating to San Francisco to perform on the Bay Area arts scene, they disbanded in 1977 after a final show at the UC Berkeley Jazz Festival.
Almost 30 years later, The Pyramids reunited unexpectedly following growing demand for their music from vinyl collectors and jazz fans and embarked on the first of many European tours featuring original members, as well as a fresh line-up including renowned percussionist Kenneth Nash. In 2012 the group signed to German label Disko B who released a new album, the freeform Otherworldly and all three albums from their rare back catalogue. Idris was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by DJ Gilles Peterson at his Worldwide Awards and The Pyramids were back, gaining a whole new legion of fans.
For their new album, We Be All Africans, the group traveled to Berlin to hunker down in Max Weissenfeldt’s analogue Philophon studio. The result is a sparkling set of Afro- jazz-funk fusions, from the infectious chants of the title track to the reflective “Epiphany” and the yearning, mournful future single, “Silent Days” featuring the brilliant vocals of Bajka. Weissenfeldt released the first fruits from the sessions, ‘Rhapsody In Berlin’ as a limited 45 during 2015 and the album features the full unedited version.
‘We Be All Africans’ is a message of survival. A message of renewal. A message that we are all brothers and sisters. We are all one family, the human family and we need one another in order to survive on this planet that we all share. – Press Release
“Recorded in Berlin at Max Weissenfeldt's Philophon studios, We Be All Africans sustains the collective's jubilant vibe with a euphonious message of universal brotherhood and harmony. The title track fuses the interstellar excursions of Sun Ra and the joyous insurgency of Fela Kuti into a contagious dance-floor filler that doesn't let up for more than six minutes. The groove gets even hotter with the polyrhythmic Afro-funk of "Rhapsody in Berlin."
More cerebral is the appropriately titled "Epiphany," a futuristic excursion with transcendent saxophone from Ackamoor and ethereal synthesizer lines swathed over serpentine percussion, and "Clarion Call," a hymnal in which the band explore interstellar space that would make Coltrane proud. With the exception of the slight percussion workout "Traponga," We Be All Africans is another exceptional sonic adventure in Idris Ackamoor's growing legacy.” – Exclaim
Item description:
Artist:
Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids
Title:
We Be All Africans
Label:
Strut
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album, 180 Gram
CD, Album
Pressing:
UK
Release Date:
2016
Genre:
Jazz, Funk / Soul
Style:
Afrobeat, Free Jazz
Catalog No:
STRUT144LP
Condition:
New
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Strut
Oneness of Juju – African Rhythms | 2018 Reissue
$45.00
Visit product page →“Oneness of Juju’s classic African Rhythms is a bold, badass concoction of Afrobeat, soul, jazz, and funk, held together by an undeniable sense of cool. Originally released on the Black Fire label in 1975, the album was first reissued by Strut in 2002. Now, the label has reawakened African Rhythms with a new edition that comes with two additional cuts, “African Rhythms (45 Version Parts 1 and 2)” and “Afrobeat.” Led by James “Plunky” Branch, a brilliant musician and activist, the New York band forged a riotous set with a power that refuses to wane.
Take the title cut, for instance: Blaring horns recall the work of Fela Kuti, while the sound of rowdy bystanders clapping along—bellowing to the music—imbue the song with a spontaneous festivity that feels totally appropriate. From there, the album shifts subtly, to the upbeat jazz of “Mashariki” and its peppy sax work. There are shades of Sun Ra’s Afrofuturism on “Incognito,” and traditional West African percussion on the bongos-laden “Chants.” The meaner funk of “Don’t Give Up” could soundtrack a night drive through 1970s New York.” – Bandcamp
“From a trailblazing band featuring members well-versed in jazz, funk, gospel, and African music, the debut album by the Oneness of Juju displayed a group playing with the dexterity of Kool & the Gang, the forward-thinking musical ideas of Herbie Hancock, and the social consciousness of Gil Scott-Heron. The title track is fiercely kinetic, with vocal choruses prodding listeners to dance and Plunky's echo-drenched saxophone floating serenely over the top of a funky space-jazz backing.” – All Music
Item description:
Artist:
Oneness of Juju
Title:
African Rhythms
Label:
Strut
Format:
2 × Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Pressing:
UK
Release Date:
This reissue: 21 September 2018 | Original: 1975
Genre:
Jazz
Style:
Afro-Cuban Jazz, Jazz-Funk
Catalog No:
STRUT188LP
Condition:
New
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Strut
Pat Thomas – Coming Home (Original Ghanaian Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1967-1981)
$48.00
Visit product page →This Fall, we’re proud to present the first full career retrospective release for Ghanaian highlife master and “The Golden Voice Of Africa,” Pat Thomas, covering his late ‘60s big band highlife recordings through to the “burger highlife” movement of the early ‘80s. With Thomas currently wowing audiences on the road in support of last year’s incredible album with Kwishibu Area Band, Coming Home offers listeners a chance to get to know Thomas’ singular career.
One of Thomas’ earliest tracks, with the Ebo Taylor lead Broadway Dance Band, is streaming below. The partnership with Taylor would become one of the enduring forces in Ghanaian music during the ‘70s, creating a fresh, progressive new highlife sound. “Today, highlife has become the world’s music,” says Thomas, “and I am proud to still bring it to so many people.” – Press Release
“Coming Home includes four other tunes by Marijata that demonstrate the group’s range. All of the bands included here—Ogyatanaa Show Band, the Black Berets, the Sweet Beans, and The Big ‘7’—wear their influences on their sleeve, but they also manage to spice them up just enough. On “Revolution,” for instance, the Sweet Beans subtly re-invent reggae as a more limber, light-footed form, the song’s slippery bass line immediately recognizable as somehow more “African” than Caribbean.
Likewise, on “Set Me Free,” the Sweet Beans hint at but don’t quite dip all the way into Latin rhythms and horn textures, choosing instead to stay in a kind of limbo between Latin jazz and ragtime, with a snaking saxophone melody that betrays the music’s Ghanaian roots. It is at these moments, where the music doesn’t quite plant both feet in any one style, when Coming Home sounds most fresh. In fact, some of the combinations that Thomas and these bands come up with suggest that these musics are still fertile ground for new combinations.” – Pitchfork
Item description:
Artist:
Pat Thomas
Title:
Coming Home (Original Ghanaian Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1967-1981)
Label:
Strut
Format:
3 × Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 180g
2 × CD, Compilation
Pressing:
UK
Release Date:
2016
Genre:
Funk / Soul, Folk, World, & Country
Style:
Highlife, Afrobeat
Catalog No:
STRUT147LP
Condition:
New
