African Music Forum
“A genuine hard bop session, swinging and persuasive, coming out of South Africa in an era when black musicians weren’t making any recordings, let alone forward-looking modern jazz albums.”
Leader Stanley Todd Kwesi assembled a monster ensemble of musicians from the Ghana Arts Council, intending to form a new Afro-Rock group that would be more traditional & African in sound, and hopefully surpass Osibisa in popularity (alas it was not to be). (via Discogs)
Hedzoleh Soundz were a band from Accra, Ghana formed in the late 1960s. The word Hedzoleh means freedom in the Ga language.
The album, recorded in Lagos, contains eight tracks: six are written by Hedzoleh, one by Masekela, and one is traditional. Their original melodies were based on traditional Akan & Ewe music and employed dark, organic-sounding African drums instead of modern western congas. Hugh Masekela was introduced to Hedzoleh by Fela Kuti. In addition to this album, Masekela recorded two more with Hedzoleh: I am Not Afraid and The Boy’s Doin’ It.