Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Archie, Manu and me

New Morning, a marvelous club for jazz in Paris, turned me on to Archie Shepp, who’s since become one of my favorites, and Manu Dibango, the Cameroonian sax giant (literally, the guy is big), in 2003. If you want to try Archie, check out “Fire Music” and “Four for Trane,” seminal free jazz albums of his. I really like “Looking at Bird,” duets with the bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen and “Passport to Paradise,” Shepp's recent homage to Sidney Bechet, which is more conventional but not exactly conventional because Archie never is exactly conventional. “Lover Man” is a good ride, too.

“Gone Clear” is a nice Manu Dibango sampler. The tune "Doctor Bird" on it always makes me smile. They sometimes categorize Manu in World Music at record stores.

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