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    Never released outside South Africa, and out of print even there since its original release in 1974, Outernational Sounds presents one of the most sought-after international jazz exclusives ever to appear on South Africa’s famous Gallo imprint – the funky, spiritual and outward bound Habiba.
    As the archives of South Africa’s premier record labels steadily give up the treasures that were hidden in the darkness of the apartheid era, the incredible heritage of South African jazz is gradually finding the international audience it always deserved. And while most of the
    laurels are naturally for South Africa’s own overlooked musicians, the South African discography contains a few sparkling, nearly unknown jazz sessions by visiting players. Habiba is the greatest of them – a raw, impassioned set led by bop pianist Kirk Lightsey, who had been a regular sideman for Chet Baker and Sonny Stitt, and saxophonist Rudolph
    Johnson, a key player at the storied West Coast indie Black Jazz. Visits to the apartheid state by respected Black musicians were hardly a common occurance during apartheid’s darkest years – so how did a crew of crack American jazz players end up in the Gallo studios?
    The story starts with the now almost forgotten crooner, Lovelace Watkins. Sometimes billed as ‘the Black Sinatra’, the Detroit-born Watkins sang standards, show tunes and ballroom classics on the Las Vegas circuit. Though he never made it big in the US, in his 1970s heyday he was a huge star in the UK and in southern Africa, where he toured regularly. In 1974 he
    hired a jazz big band to accompany him on a tour of South Africa – and among their number were Lightsey and Johnson, as well as Mastersounds bassist Monk Montgomery, West Coast trombonist and Doug Carn sideman Al Hall Jnr., and Marshall Royal, musical director of the
    Count Basie band. The tour was a huge success, and during downtime from performing, members of Watkin’s group managed to independently record no fewer than three albums. Two of these LPs appeared on the IRC label, billed as the Mallory-Hall Band – the third, which appeared on the more prestigious Gallo, was Lightsey and Johnson’s stunning Habiba.
    Three tracks deep, the album is a heavy duty excursion into post-Coltrane spiritual modernism, ranging from the modal, cerebral intensity of the side-long title track ‘Habiba’, to the downhome breakbeat groove of ‘There It Is’, and the dark glitter of minor key waltz ‘Fresh Air’.
    Long one of the most desired global jazz LPs, and never before available outside South Africa, Habiba is a forgotten masterpiece of its era. With this fully licensed reissue, Outernational Sounds is proud to restore it to its rightful place in the canon of spiritualised modernist jazz.
    Fully licensed from Gallo Records. Distributed by Honest Jons.
    credits
    released October 19, 2020

    Includes unlimited streaming of Habiba via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 3 days

      £20 GBP or more 

     

1.
Habiba 21:41
2.
Here It Is 11:53
3.
Fresh Air 05:22

about

Never released outside South Africa, and out of print even there since its original release in 1974, Outernational Sounds presents one of the most sought-after international jazz exclusives ever to appear on South Africa’s famous Gallo imprint – the funky, spiritual and outward bound Habiba.
As the archives of South Africa’s premier record labels steadily give up the treasures that were hidden in the darkness of the apartheid era, the incredible heritage of South African jazz is gradually finding the international audience it always deserved. And while most of the
laurels are naturally for South Africa’s own overlooked musicians, the South African discography contains a few sparkling, nearly unknown jazz sessions by visiting players. Habiba is the greatest of them – a raw, impassioned set led by bop pianist Kirk Lightsey, who had been a regular sideman for Chet Baker and Sonny Stitt, and saxophonist Rudolph
Johnson, a key player at the storied West Coast indie Black Jazz. Visits to the apartheid state by respected Black musicians were hardly a common occurance during apartheid’s darkest years – so how did a crew of crack American jazz players end up in the Gallo studios?
The story starts with the now almost forgotten crooner, Lovelace Watkins. Sometimes billed as ‘the Black Sinatra’, the Detroit-born Watkins sang standards, show tunes and ballroom classics on the Las Vegas circuit. Though he never made it big in the US, in his 1970s heyday he was a huge star in the UK and in southern Africa, where he toured regularly. In 1974 he
hired a jazz big band to accompany him on a tour of South Africa – and among their number were Lightsey and Johnson, as well as Mastersounds bassist Monk Montgomery, West Coast trombonist and Doug Carn sideman Al Hall Jnr., and Marshall Royal, musical director of the
Count Basie band. The tour was a huge success, and during downtime from performing, members of Watkin’s group managed to independently record no fewer than three albums. Two of these LPs appeared on the IRC label, billed as the Mallory-Hall Band – the third, which appeared on the more prestigious Gallo, was Lightsey and Johnson’s stunning Habiba.
Three tracks deep, the album is a heavy duty excursion into post-Coltrane spiritual modernism, ranging from the modal, cerebral intensity of the side-long title track ‘Habiba’, to the downhome breakbeat groove of ‘There It Is’, and the dark glitter of minor key waltz ‘Fresh Air’.
Long one of the most desired global jazz LPs, and never before available outside South Africa, Habiba is a forgotten masterpiece of its era. With this fully licensed reissue, Outernational Sounds is proud to restore it to its rightful place in the canon of spiritualised modernist jazz.
Fully licensed from Gallo Records. Distributed by Honest Jons.

credits

released October 19, 2020

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Outernational Sounds London, UK

Outernational Sounds, Bringing you Spiritual, Eastern, Afro Eurasian, Middle Eastern, Outer Galactic Deep Jazz Vibes from around the globe and beyond!

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