Xaba, Ndikho & The Natives
Ndikho Xaba & The Natives
Ndikho Xaba left South Africa in 1964, an exile from his homeland who eventually found a home in San Franciscos vibrant
spiritual jazz scene of the late 60s. A songwriter, bandleader, pianist, and inventor of percussion and woodwind
instruments, Xaba played alongside contemporaries like Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, and Sun Ra. But it was on the
single album he recorded in the US, released in an edition of just 500 copies in 1971, that Xaba realized his unique
vision. Backed by a band that included Plunky Branch and Lon Moshe (Oneness of Juju and Black Fire label), Xaba bridged
the Black Atlantic, connecting the music of Africa with the most brilliant lights of the Diaspora, and drawing a line
between the Black Power movement of the US and the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Across five songs, Xaba
and the band move through spiritual invocations, wrenching soul, and dizzying layers of rhythm knocked out on homemade
instruments. The album is a critical political and historical document, and one of our favorite spiritual jazz albums of
all time. Licensed from Nomusa, Xabas wife and co-writer on the stunning track immortalizing her name. This is a
re-issue of the remastered 2015 release by Matsuli Music, pressed on 160gm vinyl, including booklet with rare
photographs and concert bills, personal recollections from Plunky Branch, and extensive liner notes by Francis Golding.
Price
Genre
Format
LP · 1 disc
Release
03-06-2022
Label
Item-nr
1297225
EAN
0850024931480
Availability
Not in stock
Tracks
Title
Artist
1
SHWABADA
2
FREEDOM
3
FLIGHT
4
NOMUSA
5
MAKHOSI