African Jazz 'N Jive

When one of my aunties was a girl, she worked as a stewardess for a while. A couple of decades later, when I confiscated all the mono singles in the family, I got one of her souvenirs too. Artists 'Spokes Mashiyane And His Big Five' sounded fantastic but simply having a 7" from Africa was very special.
This album, "An authentic selection of South African Township Swing Classics from the 50s & 60s", has a song by Spokes too and many more exotic artists with ditto names. Most tunes are 'swing' but distinctly African. And it SWINGS! The music sounds so joyful and free, I immediately heard it as a pressure release valve for the oppressive atmosphere of apartheid, whether that's true or not. The weak point of this release is that it doesn't really tell me. There's a little bit of information on each song and the general background of the times but not nearly as much as I'd like to see.
The sad note is about the linernotes only, the music is fantastic. African Swing and a few different songs with great vocal work. It's jazz but it doesn't sound like jazz and that's my favorite kind of jazz.
Some administrative remarks about this release: I looked and found 2000 on the CD as production date but everywhere else I find 2007 as release date, quite possibly only a month ago. Gallo (flash, site sucks extremely) doesn't have it on its site (yet). It may have been released by Warner too, with a different sleeve, but that could be a different album.
Gallo, 2000

African Jazz 'N Jive

The JuJu Orchestra - Bossa Nova Is Not A Crime

What is hip? What is cool? Ask a couple of German DJs with a bunch of jazz and latin samples and this is the answer. Acid-jazz-lounge-cool-swing, wear fashionable clothes and have a rosé in an über trendy beachbar. Soooo last century, you say? Perhaps, but so am I.
Afaik, this is a collection of songs previously released as 12"s. If we forget about fashion we're left with an album full of lazy, funky, swinging grooves. Cool and Hip and the Bossa Nova from the title gives some indication about the feel of the music. It wasn't originally conceived as an album but it's very consistent: like one song and you'll like the rest too. That could be boring but a few strategically placed 'hooks' prevent the songs from monotony or disappearing into the background. Don't expect revolutionary dance music but head bobbin' relax tunes. Addictive.
Agogo records / Big-O-Music, 2007

The JuJu Orchestra - Bossa Nova Is Not A Crime

Irakere - The Best Of Irakere

I've spent a considerable part of my life playing Grand Theft Auto, long enough to get to know the in-game radio stations very well. So if a song remains great to hear after it passes for the umpteenth time, it must be a great song. 'Añunga ñunga' is on the Vice City soundtrack and is a song that stays exciting, no matter how often I hear it. With that, and my trip to Cuba in mind, I ordered this CD with great anticipation.
It's turned out a personal disappointment. I guess I expected more of the same where the other songs are more jazz and latin oriented. Routinely, I skip the songs to the next, not in the least because the compositions on this CD are mostly longer than 5 minutes, up to 17 minutes.
A personal disappointment as I'm clearly wrong considering all the awards and respect this band and individual members have received, it's Grammy awards galore.
The CD is compiled of live recordings made during a 1979 show in New York and studio sessions from 1980. They've made, in different line-ups, much more music and (former) members have released music with successful reception too, so it's probably not fair to judge this band on this CD only but I'm not curious enough to dig deeper.
It's released as a Columbia Jazz CD which gives you good value for not very much money ('nice price'), although the liner notes are a bit thin and there are no extra pictures, probably because it's a relatively old release.
Columbia / Sony, 1994

Irakere - The Best Of Irakere
Part 1
Part 2

Alternative on MF:
Part 2

The Heptones - Peace & Harmony

"The Trojan Anthology". A recent cry for reggae (in the comments) left me wondering: when was the last time I bought a reggae CD? It's not very important, I can always browse through a few boxes to see if there's a CD I've overlooked in the past.
This quite unremarkable set for example. The Heptones, a vocal trio from Jamaica, recording through the 60's and 70's. Line-up changes, financial problems, changes of studio's and producers, it's all there. The music is classic reggae, sometimes muddy sound quality and lyrics around love and women, with some babylon and hypocrites thrown in for good measure.
Truth is, I don't know what prevented The Heptones becoming as large as The Maytals or The Wailers. Not lack of quality, as singers they can be heard on other artist's albums in the backing and members also played as session musicians in the different studios they worked for. Sometimes it takes a bit of luck to make the breakthrough and perhaps that's what was missing because their quality and persistence eventually brought them fame but not as much and not as fast as they deserved.
This is for the reggae lovers who for some reason forgot about The Heptones too. This Trojan 2CD set has 46 tunes of top notch reggae and the only thing unremarkable, but decent, is the package, for the music still stands today.
Trojan / Sanctuary, 2004

The Heptones - Peace & Harmony
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

All files unpack independently, alternative files on MediaFire identical to the ones on RS:
Part 2
Part 3
See how you go with that.