OJOYO PLAYS SAFROJAZZ 25th ANNIVERSARY RE-RELEASE:
Saxophonist, clarinet player and singer Morris Goldberg is originally from Cape Town, South Africa. He was influenced by jazz, classical music, bebop and mbaqanga. His musical debut came about in 1959 with a quartet. A few years later he moved to the USA, went to study at the Manhattan School of Music and worked with Hugh Masekela. But he never forgot his African roots, and today he lives in New York. Further successful collaborations came with Miriam Makeba, Harry Belafonte and the famous “Graceland” album by Paul Simon. In 1996 he founded the band Ojoyo, and that group still exists. This is a re-release of the first recording of that band, with trumpet player Chris Botti and others. There are 9 original tracks on this album, which are situated in the picturesque genre, and honor his South African origins and rhythms. Hence the term “SafroJazz”. The music creates an African atmosphere and sounds cheerful. “Dolphin Jive” is a good example of this, and extremely danceable. Highly recommended for those who like African rhythms mixed with Western jazz.
PATRICK VAN DE WIELE
http://www.keysandchords.com/album-review-blog/ojoyo-ojoyo-plays-safrojazz
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