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Archie Shepp: The Way Ahead, Kwanza, The Magic Of Ju-ju Revisited

By Chris May
January 13, 2023
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Archie Shepp: The Way Ahead, Kwanza, The Magic Of Ju-ju Revisited

2023 kicks off with the bangingest back-in-the-day bang from the Swiss-based ezz-thetics label, whose carefully curated and remastered 1960s sessions from Archie Shepp,

Horace Silver

piano
1928 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Horace Silver,

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane and

" data-original-title="" title="">Albert Ayler lit up the reissue calendar in 2022.

Shepp's The Way Ahead, Kwanza, The Magic Of Ju-ju Revisited comes in at a whisker over seventy-nine minutes and includes all four tracks from The Way Ahead (Impulse!, 1968), two tracks from Kwanza (Impulse!, recorded 1969, released 1974) and the side-long title track from The Magic Of Ju-Ju (Impulse!, 1967). All three are important albums, but have been overshadowed by their more widely celebrated close-contemporaries, Mama Too Tight (Impulse!, 1967) and Attica Blues (Impulse!, 1972).

The 1967-68 album trilogy catches Shepp and his rough-hewn lyricism at two important transitional points. The Magic Of Ju-Ju was among his final early-period sessions without a pianist and The Way Ahead was his first album with a pianist, the hard bopper

Walter Davis

b.1912

" data-original-title="" title="">Walter Davis, a move which brought a new fulcrum to his music. Transitionwise also, the two tracks from Kwanza are in effect a sneak preview of the ensemble sound Shepp introduced with the more free-ranging pianist

Dave Burrell

piano
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Burrell in the mid-1970s.

The ezz-thetics collection ends with the earliest track, Shepp's "The Magic Of Ju-Ju," a nineteen-minute tenor saxophone workout, or rather fusillade, on which Shepp is accompanied for the first seventeen-plus minutes by double bass and a five-piece drum and percussion section, with brass players Martin Banks and

Mike Zwerin

trumpet
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Mike Zwerin only appearing during the concluding minute. It is a rapid fire, roaring delight. From The Way Ahead, Walter Davis' "Damn If I Know (The Stroller}}" (check the YouTube clip below),

Grachan Moncur III

trombone
1937 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Grachan Moncur III's "Frankenstein," Shepp's "Fiesta" and

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" make more use of the supporting horns, trombonist Moncur and trumpeter

Jimmy Owens

trumpet
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Owens, but Shepp remains the chief solo voice. The two Kwanza tracks, Moncur's "New Africa" and

Cal Massey

trumpet
1928 - 1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Cal Massey's "Bakai" (first recorded by John Coltrane on the 1957 Prestige album Coltrane), add baritone saxophonist

Charles Davis

saxophone
b.1933

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Davis, making a four-piece horn section, with Shepp continuing to be the most prominent voice.

It is all indeed magic, and ezz-thetics' remastering wizard Michael Br?ndli has once more stepped up to the plate.

Postscript: Listening to the The Way Ahead and Kwanza tracks, one is struck by powerful resonances with the work of

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus earlier in the decade. Shepp is reaching out to the same musical roots as Mingus, with his saxophone replacing the double bass as the Master of Ceremonies, while holding his musicians on a looser rein than that favoured by Mingus. The Venn diagram also includes Mingus and Shepp's shared love of Ellington. Like Mingus' music, too, Shepp's will shave your ass.

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Track Listing

The Way Ahead

Damn If I Know (The Stroller); Frankenstein; Fiesta; Sophisticated Lady.

Kwanza

New Africa; Bakai.

The Magic of Ju-Ju

The Magic of Ju-Ju.

Personnel

Archie Shepp

saxophone, tenor

Jimmy Owens

trumpet

Martin Banks

trumpet

Mike Zwerin

trumpet

Grachan Moncur III

trombone

Charles Davis

saxophone

Dave Burrell

piano

Walter Davis Jr.

piano

Ron Carter

bass

Walter Booker

bass

Reggie Workman

bass

Beaver Harris

drums

Roy Haynes

drums

Norman Connors

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Jimmy Owens: trumpet (1-6); Martin Banks: trumpet, flugelhorn (7); Michael Zwerin: trumpet, trombone (7); Grachan Moncur III: trombone (1-6); Charles Davis: baritone saxophone (5, 6); Walter Davis: piano (1-4); Dave Burrell: piano (5, 6); Ron Carter: double bass (1-4); Walter Booker: double bass (5, 6); Reggie Workman: double bass (7); Beaver Harris: drums (1, 2, 5-7); Roy Haynes: drums (3, 4); Norman Connor: drums (7); Eddie Blackwell: rhythm logs (7); Frank Charles: talking drum (7); Dennis Charles: percussion (7).

Album information

Title: The Way Ahead, Kwanza, The Magic of Ju-ju Revisited | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Ezz-thetics

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