JJ 07/74: Dollar Brand – Ancient Africa & African Space Program

Dollar Brand’s interpretation of ancient Africa is powerfully two-handed, writ large in fact, with some pleasant rhythmic tunes. Unfortunately, it is also almost all chordal, and played entirely at two dynamic levels – forte and fortis­simo. As might be expected this tends to pall by about the middle of the first side, and I must admit listening to the remainder of the record with less than my usual careful attention.

I did happen to notice, however, that Brand switches to flute for the final track of the album (also unaccompanied) for a lengthy if not too wildly ex­citing outing. The cover says the album was recorded live, and I can only conclude that the audience left well before the end of the per­formance, as there is not a single clap to be heard anywhere!

Whatever may be said about the quality of the music on Ancient Africa, the quality of the recording is excellent. Not so with African Space Program. I think I must have a faulty review copy, as everything sounds fuzzy – and it’s not that I need a new stylus. With this un­fortunate negative, the music has a large handicap to overcome.

Tintinyana has been considerably expanded from the version on Ancient Africa. Part 1 lasts for seven minutes and consists en­tirely of out of tempo orchestral chords, sounding exactly what it is meant to be – an introduction. Part 2 continues in the same man­ner for a minute or two, but then resolves into a rolling, rumbling blues, which gives all the members of the band a chance to show their paces (all, that is, except the leader, who is strangely reticent throughout the album).

Most perform in a competent modern/mainstream man­ner. The trumpeters are rather more impressive than the other soloists. Tenorist Roland Alexander freaks out a little, but saves his best (or worst?) efforts for Jabulani. The latter commences with a pleasant chordally treated melody but rapidly resolves into an extremely fast freak out, again with all the bandsmen doing their own thing. The trumpeters are more coherent than most, and Alexander is rather better than co-tenorist Stubblefield, who doesn’t seem to be able to play too much, and soon modulates into noise.

Dollar Brand nuts may well feel I have been unduly critical of both these albums; I can only suggest that they listen for themselves, especially to the Enja album, in case I was not just unlucky in getting a duff copy.

Discography
[Ancient Africa] Medley; Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro; Mamma; Tokai; Ilanga; Cherry; African Sun (23 min) – African Sun (continued); Tintinyana; Xaba; Peace-Salaam; Air (22 min)
Dollar Brand (pno/flt). Jazzhus, Copenhagen, 6/72.
(Japo 60005 £2.69)
[African Space Program] Tintinyana, Part 1; Tintinyana, Part 2 (20 min) – Jabulani-Easter Joy (22¾ min)
Cecil Bridgewater, Enrico Rava, Charles Sullivan (tpt); Klanl Zawadi (tbn); Sonny Fortune, Carlos Ward (alt/flt); Roland Alexander (ten/hca); John Stubblefield (ten); Hamiet Bluiett (bari); Dollar Brand (pno); Cecil McBee (bs); Roy Brooks (dm). NYC, 7/11/73.
(Enja 2032 £2.69)