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The Cool Crooners
Isatilo (Futur Acoustic)
$17.99
Genuine 'old school' vocal music from southern Africa.This group of senior crooners from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe present some classic sounds from the early days of pan-African pop music, steeped in the township sound and mbaqanga of South Africa, but well imbued with Congolese rumba, American jazz, R'n'B and later, rock and roll. It's terribly retro, and very right!
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Listen:
Umam' Uyakhala
Dudu Wami
Press from the record label: The time is long past when the children of Makokoba, the oldest township of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) listened to the magic and joy of Satchmo and the wild tempos of the Glenn Miller orchestra on what was called the “talking machine” (Gramophone). It was on the high plateaus of this landlocked country that the future Cool Crooners were to discover, thanks to the arrival of radio and records, jazz and rumba, the beginnings of rock, American jazz, the Mills Brothers and Ink Spots, South African jive and the songs of the Manhattan Brothers. Piano, acoustic bass, electric guitars, percussion and drums, and sometimes the electric organ were to replace their floor wax cans and oil drums cans. They arranged their own repertoire using these new sounds and rhythms, and, without losing touch with their traditional songs, created their unique “Township Jazz,” also called Mbaqanga. Today, half a century later, having fought against segregation and gained their independence, the survivors of Makokoba, the “old boys” as they are now known in Zimbabwe, offer us this new album, Isatilo, with the same boundless and contagious energy and joie de vivre that characterized their debut album of 2000, Blue Sky. The songs, sung in Sindebele, evoke the love that we lose, that we deserve or that is just around the corner. There is a tribute to Abdullah Ibrahim, another to their South African colleagues the Manhattan Brothers, as well as a remake of the famous “Click Song.” Isatilo refers to the damage caused by locusts that destroy crops. It also denotes the fatality of violence, nature’s revolt and men who struggle as the Cool Crooners have always done.
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Please note!
Most CDs have been imported from Europe or Asia. They are not all shrink-wrapped, and I am not going to con you by wrapping them here just to make you think they have been sterilized in America. We guarantee that the CDs and the contents are all brand new and in perfect condition. Whenever I can, I use recycled shipping materials. They may not look as pretty on the outside, but they save money and keep the trash dumps a little bit emptier.
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