African High Life
African High Life | |
---|---|
Studio album by Solomon Ilori | |
Released | 1963 |
Recorded | April 25, 1963 |
Studio | Van Gelder Studio, Englewoood Cliffs, NJ |
Genre | Highlife, Afro-Cuban jazz, hard bop |
Length | 35:05 |
Label | Blue Note |
Producer | Alfred Lion |
African High Life is the debut album by Nigerian drummer and percussionist Solomon Ilori recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label.[1] The album was reissued on CD in 2006 with three bonus tracks recorded at a later session.
Reception
Allmusic awarded the album 4 stars and reviewer Brandon Burke stated "this is a very enjoyable if not essential album of traditional African highlife music set to dance tempos".[2] The All About Jazz review by Chris May called the original album "pleasant, if unspectacular, palm-wine highlife outings from the West African tradition, distinguished by some masterful drumming, but diminished by strangely inept alto saxophone contributions" but stated the bonus tracks "anticipate—with great brio and deep grooves—the astral jazz of the late '60s and early '70s, and the world jazz which has in turn followed".[3]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
Track listing
- All compositions by Solomon Ilori
- "Tolani (African Love Song)" – 7:44
- "Ise Oluwa (God's Work Is Indestructable)" – 5:39
- "Follow Me to Africa" – 5:29
- "Yaba E (Farewell)" – 5:30
- "Jojolo (Look at This Beautiful Girl)" – 7:17
- "Aiye Le (The Troubled World)" – 3:25
- "Gbogbo Omo Ibile (Going Home)" – 11:47 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Agbamurero (Rhino)" – 13:54 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Igbesi Aiye (Song of Praise to God)" – 13:22 Bonus track on CD reissue
- Notes
- Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on April 25, 1963 (tracks 1-6) and October 30, 1964 (tracks 7-9)
Personnel
- Solomon Ilori – vocal, pennywhistle, talking drum, guitar
- Chief Bey, Roger Sanders (tracks 7-9), Ladji Camara (tracks 7-9), Sonny Morgan (tracks 7-9) – conga, hand drum, percussion
- Josiah Ilori – sakara drum, cowbell (tracks 1-6)
- Robert Crowder – conga, shekere, cowbell (tracks 1-6)
- Montego Joe – conga (tracks 1-6)
- Garvin Masseaux – conga, xylophone, cowbell (tracks 1-6)
- Jay Berliner – guitar (tracks 1-6)
- Hosea Taylor – alto saxophone, flute (tracks 1-6)
- Donald Byrd – trumpet (tracks 7-9)
- Hubert Laws – tenor saxophone, flute (tracks 7-9)
- Elvin Jones – drums (tracks 7-9)
- Ahmed Abdul-Malik (tracks 1-6), Bob Cranshaw (tracks 7-9) – bass
- Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson – piano, musical director
References
- v
- t
- e
leader
- Byrd's Eye View (1955)
- Byrd Jazz (1955)
- Byrd's Word (1955)
- Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill (1956)
- 2 Trumpets (with Art Farmer, 1956)
- The Young Bloods (with Phil Woods, 1956)
- Jazz Eyes (and John Jenkins ao, 1957)
- Fuego (1959)
- Byrd in Flight (1960)
- Free Form (1961)
- A New Perspective (1963)
- I'm Tryin' to Get Home (1964)
- Up with Donald Byrd (1964)
- Mustang! (1966)
- Blackjack (1967)
- Slow Drag (1967)
- Fancy Free (1969)
- Kofi (1969–70)
- Ethiopian Knights (1971)
- Black Byrd (1972)
- Street Lady (1973)
- Stepping into Tomorrow (1974)
- Places and Spaces (1975)
- Caricatures (1976)
- Thank You...For F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life) (1978)
- Donald Byrd and 125th Street, N.Y.C. (1979)
- Love Byrd (1981)
- Words, Sounds, Colors and Shapes (1982)
- Harlem Blues (1987)
- Getting Down to Business (1989)
- A City Called Heaven (1991)
Pepper
Adams
- 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot (1958)
- Off to the Races (1959)
- Byrd in Hand (1959)
- At the Half Note Cafe (1960)
- Motor City Scene (1960)
- Out of This World (1961)
- Chant (1961)
- The Cat Walk (1961)
- Royal Flush (1961)
- The Creeper (1967)
- Electric Byrd (1970)
The Jazz
Messengers
- The Jazz Messengers (1956)
- Originally (1956)
- Art Blakey Big Band (1957)
- Holiday for Skins (2 volumes, 1958)
Gigi
Gryce
- At Newport (and Cecil Taylor, 1957)
- Gigi Gryce and the Jazz Lab Quintet (Riverside, 1957)
- Jazz Lab (Columbia album) (1957)
- Jazz Lab (Jubilee album) (1957 [1958])
- Modern Jazz Perspective (with Jackie Paris, 1957)
- New Formulas from the Jazz Lab (1957)
Jackie
McLean
- Lights Out! (1956)
- 4, 5 and 6 (1956)
- New Soil (1959)
- Jackie's Bag (1959)
- Vertigo (1963)
Hank
Mobley
- The Jazz Message of Hank Mobley (Savoy, 1956)
- Mobley's Message (Prestige, 1956)
- Jazz Message No. 2 (Savoy, 1957)
- Hank Mobley Sextet (1956)
- Hank (1957)
- No Room for Squares (1963)
- Straight No Filter (1963)
- The Turnaround! (1963)
- Far Away Lands (1967)
others
- Discoveries/Presenting Cannonball Adderley (Cannonball Adderley, 1955)
- Jammin' with Gene (Gene Ammons, 1956)
- All Night Long (Kenny Burrell, 1956)
- All Day Long (Kenny Burrell, 1957)
- 2 Guitars (Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Raney, 1957)
- Whims of Chambers (Paul Chambers, 1956)
- Paul Chambers Quintet (1957)
- Sonny's Crib (Sonny Clark, 1957)
- My Conception (Sonny Clark, 1959)
- Bohemia After Dark (Kenny Clarke, 1955)
- Lush Life (John Coltrane, 1957–58)
- The Believer (John Coltrane, 1957–58)
- The Last Trane (John Coltrane, 1957–58)
- Black Pearls (John Coltrane, 1957–58)
- Davis Cup (Walter Davis Jr., 1959)
- Wailing With Lou (Lou Donaldson, 1957)
- Lou Takes Off (Lou Donaldson, 1957)
- This Is New (Kenny Drew, 1957)
- All Mornin' Long (Red Garland, 1957)
- Soul Junction (Red Garland, 1957)
- High Pressure (Red Garland, 1957)
- One Flight Up (Dexter Gordon, 1964)
- Ladybird (Dexter Gordon, 1965)
- Snap Your Fingers (Al Grey, 1962)
- Johnny Griffin Sextet (1958)
- Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 (Guru, 1993)
- Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality (Guru, 1994–95)
- My Point of View (Herbie Hancock, 1993)
- Tone Tantrum (Gene Harris, 1977)
- Swamp Seed (Jimmy Heath, 1963)
- Informal Jazz (Elmo Hope, 1956)
- African High Life (Solomon Ilori, 1963)
- Big Byrd: The Essence Part 2 (Ahmad Jamal, 1994 or 1995)
- Quartet-Quintet (Hank Jones, 1955)
- Bluebird (Hank Jones, 1955)
- TV Action Jazz! (Mundell Lowe, 1959)
- The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall (1959)
- Goin' Out of My Head (Wes Montgomery, 1965)
- Hush! (Duke Pearson, 1962)
- Wahoo! (Duke Pearson, 1964)
- Another One/Oscar Pettiford Volume 2 (1955)
- Winner's Circle (Oscar Pettiford, et al, 1957)
- Blues in Trinity (Dizzy Reece, 1958)
- The Cool Voice of Rita Reys (1956)
- Dimensions & Extensions (Sam Rivers, 1967)
- Sonny Rollins, Volume 1 (1956)
- Don't Stop the Carnival (Sonny Rollins, 1978)
- Silver's Blue (Horace Silver, 1956)
- 6 Pieces of Silver (Horace Silver, 1956–58)
- A Date with Jimmy Smith Volume One (1957)
- A Date with Jimmy Smith Volume Two (1957)
- Taylor's Wailers (Art Taylor, 1957)
- Soul Sauce (Cal Tjader, 1964)
- A Bluish Bag (Stanley Turrentine, 1967)
- Top Brass (Ernie Wilkins, 1955)
- Pairing Off (Phil Woods, 1956)