Veteran South African drummer
Tumi Mogorosi
had toured and played sessions with his country's masters before releasing his solo debut,
Project Elo
, in 2014. Produced by
Nduduzo Makhathini
, it combined a jazz quintet and vocal quartet in exploring connections between spiritual jazz and post-bop. A current member of
Shabaka & the Ancestors
,
Mogorosi
also co-founded the avant-jazz/noise trio
Wretched
. On
Group Theory: Black Music
extends the modernist connections between spiritual jazz and choral gospel music. He carries the torch for a tradition established by
Max Roach
's
It's Time
(1962),
Donald Byrd
New Perspective
(1965),
Andrew Hill
Lift Every Voice
(1969),
Eddie Gale
Ghetto Music
and
Black Rhythm Happening
(1968 and 1969), and
Billy Harper
Capra Black
(1973) -- which all employ choirs.
leads a quintet, sextet, and a nine-voice choir with soloists.
"Wadada" commences dramatically as the horn section's gorgeous modal head frames the wordless choir, which soars above them.
Tumi Pheko
's bluesy trumpet solo is followed by a harmonically expansive alto break from
Mthunzi Mvubu
(also a member of
the Ancestors
) as
fills, accents, and delivers nearly majestic processional patterns before guitarist
Reza Khota
offers shard-like chords that introduce a group improv section. "Panic Manic" sounds like it begins in the middle. Trumpet, sax, co-producer
Andile Yenana
's cascading piano, and
Dalisu Ndlazi
's knotty bassline guide
's thrumming drum kit as the vocalists contribute passionate modal lines. Behind
Pheko
's solo,
Mvubu
Khota
engage in intricate interplay. During the saxophonist's solo,
Yenana
adds massive chords and crystalline ostinatos before the choir and horns carry it out. There are two versions of the spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" led by vocal soloists. The first features
Siya Mthembu
fronting the choir and backed by the trio of
Ndlazi
, and
. His baritone ranges over the lyric as the choir frames and then elevates his phrasing. After
's deeply moving solo,
Mthembu
reenters, singing falsetto in dialogue with the choir. Led by choir and horns, "Walk with Me" evolves from modal jazz to spiritual soul before
provides a hinge with a killer post-bop blues solo. "Mmama" is an instrumental that reveals the band's intricate, nearly lyrical interplay. "Thaba Bosiu" showcases the choir moving toward vanguard jazz with syncopated phrasing behind the glorious modal communication of the sextet. The second version of "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" is sung by longtime collaborator
Gabi Motuba
.
's tom-toms rumble under her deep blue, incantatory intro. When she begins delivering the verse, her singing over the chorale's backing sounds like it is haunted by history.
Motuba
alters the lyric, embodying Black experience throughout time's passage and the distance traveled in the African diaspora: "We've come a long way from home..." as
add intuitive support.
is a monumental achievement.
's considerable talent as a bandleader illuminates the depth and diversity of jazz talent on the explosive South African scene. ~ Thom Jurek