Blue Notes - Blue Notes For Johnny

Blue Notes were a late 60s collective originally based in Cape Town but migrated to Europe, and then eventually the UK, in the early 70s to escape various racist prejudices held against multiracial acts in apartheid South Africa. It took some time to re-establish themselves once in London, not actually releasing anything until 1976. That debut record, Blue Notes For Mongezi, was some introduction, a spiritually-inclined free jazz masterpiece split into four movements. Dedicated to the memory of band member Mongezi Feza and recorded straight after his memorial service, .. For Mongezi is an 80 minute plus opus that, for my money, lands somewhere between Organic Music Society, Spiritual Unity and Village of the Pharaohs. I'm not mincing my words here. We had an OG copy in the shop back when we first opened in 2018, so it's a thrill to see Oto's inhouse label OTOROKU partner with Ogun to bring it back into print. Truly an all-timer with huge emotional gravitas. Blue Notes for Johnny followed a good while later in 1987, though time had diminished their power not one bit. Much like its predecessor, it too was inspired by the untimely passing of a band member, the titular Johnny Dyani. Substantially shorter than ...Mongezi it might be, though the breadth of their composition remained, both ambitious and generous of spirit. There's a collective familial feel at the heart of their playing that does invite further comparisons to the Organic Music Society, and more so than on their debut, there appears to be a notable debt paid to the township life and culture of their home country. Airy, warm, carnivalesque at times, yet still underscored with a lingering freeness that's as blue as it is vibrant. This is more a celebration of life than it is an elegy. Remarkable, elemental music. You'll struggle to find more essential documents of the era and few with such a big heart.