Art BLAKEY - The African Beat 1962

Art BLAKEY - The African Beat 1962

Jazz

While not a universally praised piece of the Art Blakey discography, The African Beat is quite engaging. Yusef Lateef is the only horn player, featured on oboe, flute, tenor sax, cow horn, and thumb piano with Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass, but trombonist Curtis Fuller is only heard playing tympani -- it was that kind of session. The drum ensemble includes Chief Bey, along with five other percussionists on conboro, log, and bata drums with penny whistles, gongs, congas, and African maracas. This is reminiscent of Lateef's more exotic sessions from the same time period.
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In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Art Blakey's fascination with drums went beyond his own playing behind the vaunted Jazz Messengers. He began enlisting multiple drummers, first to chair the Messengers with him (as on the fantastic Drums Around the Corner) and then as stand-alone ensemble like the one that plays on The African Beat. Blakey's nine-drummer wall of rhythm is fronted by Yusef Lateef on horns--and occasionally percussion--and bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik. They play tunes that stand on thick carpets of cymbals, congas, log drums, maracas, and more. As a result, they produce massive soundscapes with floating horn lines over the top, something that conjures Egypt and Manhattan at once. The only downers with the session are the fade-outs that close off the rich dialogues happening across continents, but these come after such a wealth of melody and energy that it's easily forgivable. And while Blakey could easily have powered this band to ungodly speeds, he keeps things midtempo so that everyone is locked into a groove and moves as a magical unit.
By Andrew Bartlett.
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Ahmed Abdul- Malik - Bass
Chief Bay- Percussion, Conga
Chief Bey- Conga, Drums, Gong
Art Blakey- Percussion, Drums, Gong, Tympani [Timpani], Drums (Snare)
Robert Crowder- Percussion, Conga, Bata Drums
James Ola. Folami- Percussion, Conga
Curtis Fuller- Tympani [Timpani]
Solomon G. Illori- Drums, Vocals, Whistle (Instrument), Penny Whistle, Talking Drum
Yusef Lateef- Flute, Piano, Horn, Oboe, Sax (Tenor), Piano (Thumb)
Garvin Masseaux- Percussion, Conga, Maracas, Chekere
Montego Joe- Percussion, Drums, Gong, Log Drums
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01. Prayer by Solomon G Llori (Traditional) :55
02. Ife l'Ayo (There Is Happiness in Love) (Solomon) 5:30
03. Obirin African (Woman of Africa) (Blakey) 3:42
04. Love, the Mystery Of (Warren) 9:24
05. Ero Ti Nr'ojeje (Llori) 7:34
06. Ayiko, Ayiko (Solomon) 7:14
07. Tobi Ilu (Bey) 5:57
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