South African drummer and band leader Asher Gamedze continues to surprise and please. His latest effort, A Semblance: Of Return may be his funkiest album yet, but it's also still conscious in the right ways. This is jazz that's in the spirit of the best early Seventies genre efforts, but it's also music that seems more progressive in some ways than so much else that's out there these days.
Opener "Stranger No Death" is one of a few cuts here which feature readings of the work of South African martyred anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko. The words, heard faintly in the spry "Progressive" and at the start of the loose and funky "Air" anchor this material to South Africa's past, even as Asher looks to the now and future. The tunes here on A Semblance: Of Return are energetic, playful even, with Gamedze's band setting forth tunes which bounce as well as inspire. Unlike the epic length last album from Asher, the excellent Constitution, this is a record that breezes past a listener. Keyboard player Nobuhle Ashanti, so central to Constitution, anchors "Following Up" on a sharp groove, while trumpeter Keegan Steenkamp pursues a boss melodic line. "Of The Fire" uses a nearly go-go-like rhythmic pattern from percussionist Ru Slayen and leader and drummer Asher to keep the cut bouncing atop a memorable hook. Bass from Zwide Ndwandwe (bass) provides the weight for that one, as well as numbers like "War" later on the record.
A deft mix of jazz, funk, and even spoken word, this Asher Gamedze record may be his best to date. A Semblance: Of Return is an album of joy and awareness, with the band under Gamedze's leadership pursuing release in the smart grooves of the cuts. Full of nimble rhythms, heavy grooves, and superb playing, this is one of this week's most enjoyable and listenable new records. And it's a clear high point in Asher Gamedze's recording career.
A Semblance: Of Return by Asher Gamedze is out today via Northern Spy Records. Details via Bandcamp too.
[Photo: Lelia Khan]