A minty French pressing of an ultra-rare South African jazz masterpiece from 1970. This essential Cape Jazz / soul-jazz album is led by Henry Sithole, founder of the renowned SA jazz band The Drive, alongside other members of the group.
It’s impossible to pick a favorite track—every tune on this record is simply splendid. The album offers a perfect blend of American hard bop and irresistibly danceable South African grooves.
Special mention goes to the sleeve artwork. Clearly inspired by Abbey Road (released just a year earlier in 1969), the cover depicts the jazz quintet crossing an unpaved street in Orlando, a township of Soweto. A striking detail: guitarist Cyril Magubane, who had been paralyzed from the waist down by polio since childhood, appears seated in his wheelchair.
Big up to Thomas, aka Bobwall—formerly known as French Attack—from Listen Record Store for shining a light on this record. And special thanks to my friend Nico, aka Konilegaucher, who gifted me this copy 17 years ago for my son’s birth.
What I’m offering here is a perfect spare stock copy, pulled from long-defunct dead stock.
Record looks NM (barely visible storage warp nothing serious, plays NM) / Sleeve is NM very close to Mint.
