African Jazz Pioneers - African Jazz Pioneers (1989)

A South African jazz ensemble founded in the 1980s by tenor sax player Bra Ntemi Piliso, the African Jazz Pioneers blend American big-band jazz with traditional majuba rhythms to create an exuberant variant of township jazz. This set is a perfect example of the group's joyous and elegant energy and these eight tracks seamlessly flow with uncommon brightness. Highlights, although pretty much everything here is of a piece, include the spunky "Hellfire," the bouncing and flowing "Mzabalazo," and the winking but stately "Riverside Special."~© Steve Leggett /TiVo