Souljazz Orchestra Rising

The Souljazz Orchestra: Mamaya
From: Rising Sun [2010, Strut]

It’s been an exciting year or so for African music at Strut. In addition to releases from one of my musical heroes (Mulatu Astatke) and the Nigeria 70 series, there’s the Jimi Tenor / Tony Allen Inspiration Information album, and this March will see a reissue of the seminal Duncan Brooker compilation Afro Rock Vol. 1 (I’ll try to post a track from that one coming up as well). But this project holds a special place in my heart, because it’s from a new band, and one that not a lot of people seem to be up on (at least in the States). The Souljazz Orchestra have quietly been making Afrobeat and jazz-inspired masterpieces for the better part of the last decade, earning them accolades from the likes of Afro enthusiasts Gilles Peterson and Rich Medina. I was ignorant of the group’s efforts though until their awesome remix of Horace Andy & Ashley Beedle’s “Watch We,” from that duo’s own Inspiration Information project. The way they flipped that one from a mellow dancehall loper into a slice of Afro heat really impressed me, and I was eager to hear what else the group had up its sleeve.

On Rising Sun the group maintains the same intensity (see the video above) while expanding a little bit into the realm of cosmic jazz, and Ethio style modes. It’s nice to have the floor fillers book-ended by some spacier, introspective numbers. There’s even a Pharaoh Sanders cover, to give you an idea of the kind of territory they’re treading. Unfortunately, there aren’t any US dates planned so far. I’d love to see these guys tear up a stage, but it’s looking like I’ll have to wait on that one. If I hear anything about upcoming dates, I’ll be sure to get on the horn. For the Canadians though, you’re all set: