Monday, September 15, 2008

Bheki Mseleku, 1955-2008

















Farewell.

Bheki Mseleku, one of the most compelling pianists in jazz, died last week. Like fellow South African Abdullah Ibrahim, Mseleku brought new concepts and textures to the music. As his career developed Mseleku became associated with English jazz musicians including Courtney Pine. The saxophonist and several other Englishmen assist Mseleku on Celebration, but "Joy" is propelled by precisely the sort of groove I associate with Marvin "Smitty" Smith, the 1992 date's American drummer.

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Forget my review. You need to see the incredible photos Keith Myers took of Norman Brown and Chante Moore on Saturday night.

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Charlie Walker died Friday. This vintage Walker video will make you smile. (Tip via BGO.)

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Richard Wright of Pink Floyd died today.

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Soul great Marva Whitney posted a blog update over the weekend.

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Kansas City Click: Cut Copy and the Presets will fill the dance floor at the Record Bar tonight.

1 comment:

bgo said...

The Charlie Walker video did make me smile. When these cats played with their own bands on TV and played live it simply didn't get any better. The 45's pale by comparsion.

Richard Wright was the real soul behind PF. He wrote their 2 best songs (with no disrespect to Syd)