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Mark Kavuma: The Banger Factory
By
Mark Kavuma
trumpetWithin two minutes of putting the disc in the player you know you are on to a winner. The hornless ninety-second introduction to "Dear KD" evokes the opening of

Pharoah Sanders
saxophone, tenor1940 - 2022

Art Blakey
drums1919 - 1990


Lee Morgan
trumpet1938 - 1972

Benny Golson
saxophone, tenor1929 - 2024

Grant Green
guitar1935 - 1979
Nothing sounds remotely derivative or revivalist, however. This is a living tradition inhabited by believersright down to the youngest member of the band, tenor saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi, still 19 years old and studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (and also going along to Tomorrow's Warriors' sessions), who is making a name for himself in both acoustic jazz, as here, and on electronic mash-ups with Blue Lab Beats.
Hidden behind the CD on the inside of the packaging are words attributed to Lee Morgan which neatly sum up the vibe of The Banger Factory. "There are no natural barriers. It's all music. It's either hip or it ain't." This disc is most definitely hip.
Demonstrating that the group's cultural awareness extends beyond hard bop, Kavuma has another pertinent quote at the top of his web page announcing this album's release. This time the words come, not from a revered jazz musician, but from the Stones' Keith Richards: "Good music comes out of people playing together, knowing what they want to do and going for it. You have to sweat over it and bug it to death. And do a lot of drugs." No, rewind that, neither Richards nor Kavuma said the last six words.
Kavuma goes out of his way to stress that the album is a group effort, and this is no bullshit. He wrote all seven tracks himself, but sits out on two of them, letting others take the spotlight (which he shares generously across the album). And three tunes, "Mussinghi," "Big Willie" (for William Cleasby) and "Mkrakpor," were written with particular band members in mind (or later arranged that way).
The Banger Factory is front-page good news with some delightful surprises up its sleeve, including the chicken shack bossa-nova outro to.... (no spoilers here). ">
Track Listing
Dear KD; The Banger Factory; Mussinghi; Lullaby To A Fading Star; Big Willie; The Songbird; Mrakpor.
Personnel
Mark Kavuma
trumpetMark Kavuma: trumpet (1-4, 7); Mussinghi Brian Edwards: tenor saxophone (1-4, 6, 7); Kaidi Akinnibi: tenor saxophone (2-4, 7); Artie Zaitz: guitar; David Mrakpor: vibraphone; Reuben James: piano (2, 7), organ (1, 3, 4, 6); Dechanel Gordon: piano (1, 6); Michael Shrimpling: double bass; William Cleasby: drums.
Album information
Title: The Banger Factory | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Ubuntu Music
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