A.K. Salim - AFRO SOUL/DRUM ORGY

[JSngry]

From Dusty Groove (the bastards!): http://www.dustygroove.com/globallp.htm#30286

AK Salim -- Afro Soul Drum Orgy (reissue) . . . LP . . . $8.99 (Item: 30286)

Prestige, 1965 Condition: New Copy

Incredible! This is a stunning set of African-inspired jazzy percussion tracks -- similar to some of the work done by Art Blakey on his Orgy In Rhythm albums, but with a lot better horn work, and with an overall conception that's much more unified! AK Salim did some sleepier work for Savoy in the 50s -- but by the time of this 1965 recording, he was emerging as a progressive composer with a strong talent for bringing together disparate moods and styles. This rare recording was one of his best works ever, and it's one of the most unusual sides cut by Prestige in the 60s. It features Johnny Coles, Pat Patrick, and Yusef Lateef out front on horns -- plus backing by a host of Latin and African percussionists. Tracks are very long -- and the reed work of Lateef and Patrick makes the set especially worthwhile for jazz listeners. Titles include "Afrika", "Kumuamkia Mzulu", and "Pepo Za Sarari".

If you're the type who likes their jazz one or two ways only, stay away. Definitely. But otherwise, check it out. This is a really nice side, a lot more "organic" than a lot of the Blakey things, and totally spellbinding if you're into the kind of thing that this is, which is a lot more "African" than it is "jazz", which I think is why I've loved it so much over the years - no ersatz "exotica", just beautiful drum/percussion grooves, the kind that make time stand still, and probing, almost "out of character" soloing by the three horns. Don Cherry would have fit in beautifully on this album, but the way Coles plays, you'll not miss him.

I never thought I'd see this reissued, and it's LP only, so I don't know how ""official" it is, but it IS being made available again. And if you don't have a turntable, stop living in the past!

Carpe diem, my friends.

Edited January 9, 2004 by JSngry

[undergroundagent]

I had the original Prestige LP of this album a few years back when I was into record collecting...it's a nice album, but probably not for everybody.

[JSngry]

No, it's not for everybody.

It's for everybody else.

[undergroundagent]

That's a quirky way of looking at it, but I suppose you're right.

[brownie]

Jim has it right, once more

I have the Prestige LP. I'm glad to see it reissued so that others can enjoy it.

And who wants to miss an Orgy?

Edited January 9, 2004 by brownie

[jazzbo]

Yes, in some ways this is Salim's best, because it blazes a trail more. . . . This is a less explored format than his previous releases were, and he really puts his best foot forward.

This swings, it bouces, it rocks. . . . It's all about the beat and the groove.

[.:.impossible]

No, it's not for everybody.

It's for everybody else.

Sounds a lot like one of my important realizations on acid in college. I was trying to explain to everyone in the room how there is everything we, as a civilization, know, then there's everything else.

Sounds simple now, but there were a lot of blank faces in the room and it was a deep realization at the time!

Earlier that day I heard sounds that sounded like car horns, and birds. I later realized they were car horns, and birds.

[.:.impossible]

BTW, I would love to see this on CD. This really sounds like my kind of music!

[Joe]

As Jim kindly let me borrow his copy a while back, I can safely recommend this one, if for Yusef Lateef's contributions alone.

[JSngry]

Sounds a lot like one of my important realizations on acid in college.,,,Earlier that day I heard sounds that sounded like car horns, and birds. I later realized they were car horns, and birds.

Yeah, I had something similar happen once, only it was the birds that sounded like car hotrns and the car horns that sounded like birds.

And Eric Dolphy's flute playing sounded like a car horn building a nest!

[Mark13]

I'm not much into vinyl, but there is are so many classic records that still await a proper CD-release that I've been tempted to go through record bins here and there.

This one I found in a record store in Amsterdam yesterday. What a nice find. Hypnotic, open-ended stuff, with great playing by all. Comparisons to Blakey's percussion-albums are obvious but this presents a more integrated vision. Spontaneous as it is, it has the feel of a genuine suite (orgy - not so much). A criminally neglected record.

But then, so is the leader. After giving it its first spin I went on a brief internet-search and came up with almost nothing. There is no mention of his passing (if he's still among us, he celebrated his 100th birthday last year), and no mention of any artistic activity after 1964. What happened?

[Teasing the Korean]

30 minutes ago, Mark13 said:

Comparisons to Blakey's percussion-albums are obvious but this presents a more integrated vision. Spontaneous as it is, it has the feel of a genuine suite (orgy - not so much). A criminally neglected record.

As someone with a lot of Latin/African/World percussion albums, this is IMO better than the Blakey drum albums, because the drums groove on this one. On the Blakey albums, Blakey plays like he is fighting against the percussionists.   I was able to compile a decent Blakey percussion comp with the best tracks from across the releases.  And I am really talking bout the Blue Note albums, because The Drum Suite on Columbia grooves much better.  IMO, of course.

[bertrand]

On 1/9/2004 at 3:09 AM, brownie said:

Jim has it right, once more

I have the Prestige LP. I'm glad to see it reissued so that others can enjoy it.

And who wants to miss an Orgy?

Since COVID I have been playing it safe and only do Zoom orgies.

[Chuck Nessa]

44 minutes ago, bertrand said:

Since COVID I have been playing it safe and only do Zoom orgies.

Do you really find that satisfying?

[mikeweil]

I bought a copy of the LP in the 1980's in Rome - great second hand shop. That horn section is the most imaginative that ever played with a percussion band.

Blakey thought a little bit too much in terms of drummers cutting contests.

Edited February 18, 2023 by mikeweil

[Teasing the Korean]

On 1/8/2004 at 9:46 PM, JSngry said:

...no ersatz "exotica"...

I totally consider this to be an exotica album, in that it presents music from one culture as filtered through the prism of another.  I file it in the exotica section, and I listen to it only in the summer, when I drink rum.

[JSngry]

Fusing and grafting are not the same thing 

[Teasing the Korean]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Fusing and grafting are not the same thing 

I agree, and much of the best exotica does some of both, including this one. 

Either way, I will continue to file this album in the exotica section and listen in the summer while drinking rum.  I also will continue to blast jungle animal sounds on my Bose docking station while playing this LP, which reinforces the exotica elements.

[JSngry]

Your house, your rules. 

[clifford_thornton]

I like this record quite a bit. Have an original and would assume the 2004ish reissue is a Scorpio bootleg.

Though CDs have gone a bit in the direction of the dodo (for now), I am somewhat surprised it never got an OJC treatment. Perhaps the tapes are lost.

[Teasing the Korean]

32 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

I like this record quite a bit. Have an original and would assume the 2004ish reissue is a Scorpio bootleg.

Though CDs have gone a bit in the direction of the dodo (for now), I am somewhat surprised it never got an OJC treatment. Perhaps the tapes are lost.

There was a reissue prior to 2004.  I bought it at Stereo Jack's in Cambridge sometime before 2003.