VARIOUS ARTISTS
Afro Blue, Vol. 2 (Blue Note)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Subtitled "The Roots And Rhythms Of Jazz," Afro Blue, Vol. 2 is a collection of jazz cuts that pay direct tribute to the influence of African musical traditions, especially percussive traditions, on the development of jazz. One credible definition of jazz is African music played on European instruments. There are, of course, many other credible definitions of jazz, but any of them would have to give at least some credit to those two elements. Many of the tracks included here emphasize the African elements by using distinctly African instruments such as talking drums and kalimbas (thumb pianos), but they all feature western instruments as well, from Yusef Lateef's oboe to Art Blakey's trap set.

A glance at the track list reveals an assortment of the finest names on the Blue Note roster. The leaders constitute an impressive bunch, and they're joined by sidemen such as Lateef, Blue Mitchell, Elvin Jones, Herbie Hancock, Philly Joe Jones, Booker Ervin, Buddy Collette, Nat Adderly and more. This is a truly outstanding collection of tracks, built around a theme worthy of deeper exploration by any jazz fan.

Track List: The Jazz Crusaders/Appointment In Ghana * Curtis Amy & Dupree Bolton/Katanga * Art Blakey & Sabu/Message From Kenya * Art Blakey & The Afro Drum Ensemble/Obirin African (Woman Of Africa) * Solomon Hori & His Afro Drum Ensemble/Follow Me To Africa * Wayne Shorter/Black Nile * Stanley Turrentine/Niger Mambo * Lee Morgan/Zambia * Randy Weston/Zulu * Blue Mitchell/Blue Dashiki * McCoy Tyner/Malika * Candido/Ghana Spice Pt. 1 * Cannonball Adderley/Marabi

© 1999 - Shaun Dale