![]() The group have a quality that's surprisingly deep – very soulful, and with a subtle power that comes through strongly – thanks to a mostly-English batch of lyrics (although a few tunes here are in their native Bemba.) No cuts are all-out funky, but all have this great slow-funk sort of charm – and titles include "I Am Very Far", "Sunday Morning", "Khala My Friend", "Green Apple", "Africa", "Making The Scene", "Easy Street", "Big Enough" and "Kale". Wonderfully fuzzy work from Amanaz – one of the trippiest, headiest groups of the Zamrock scene of the 70s! The guitars here are very full and present – not at a hit you over the head jamming label, but with this rich sonic element that has lots of bassy undercurrents – at a level that makes the album a head-nodding gem all the way through – poised perfectly between some of the more psyche styles of the African scene of the time, and some of the more thoughtful singer-songwriter material. The whole lineup's great – and players include Frank Wess on flute, Frank Foster on tenor, Thad Jones on trumpet, and Freddie Green on guitar – and the album features a lot of sweet originals that really keep things interesting – including "The Daly Jump", "Not Now I'll Tell You When", "Rare Butterfly", "Back To The Apple", "Blue On Blue", and "Swingin At The Waldorf". Not Now I'll Tell You When is a great title for this classic Count Basie album – as it really gets at the tight, focused direction that makes Basie so great at this point in his career – his way of singling out each and every instrumentalist, and perfectly timing their performances! The sense of rhythm is what makes the Basie group so different from so many other large ensembles – not big band swing, not tonal modern, but this rootsy, soulful style at the bottom – even when the instrumentation is impeccable – that undeniable groove that makes a record like this swing from the start, then keep on going strongly, even when lots of colors and tones come into the mix. ![]() The result is a classic Basie session, but with plenty of surprises – featuring a fresh batch of tunes that includes "Jump For Johnny", "Ducky Bumps", "Rose Bud", "Shanghaied", "Together Again", and "Eee Dee". The tunes are very much in the "loud, then soft, then loud" mode that Hefti pioneered with Basie's angular group of the 50s – but they've also got some of the warmer, more whimsical touches that Neal would explore more fully in his later soundtrack work too. On My Way & Shoutin Again is a wonderful album of 60s Basie – one that focuses on the writing and arranging talents of the great Neal Hefti! Hefti's one of our favorite soundtrack composers of the decade, but in the years before his film fame, he was a frequent partner of Basie – and this album marks one of their greatest collaborations together.
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