Cover
LINER NOTESThe band was formed in 1973 they were discovered by Berthwel Maphumulo who was playing with The Elite Swingsters together with Joe Zikhali they were joined by Mac Mathunjwa who was still at school later Innocent Mathunjwa a brother to Mac joined Abacothozi and together they formed this fabulous band. Personnel Organ: Mac Muthunjwa from Springs Guitar: Joe Zikhali from O'Bonjeni Bass: Berthwel Maphumulo from Stenger Drums: Innocent Mathunjwa from Springs ℗ A Mavuthela Production ℗ 1976 Recording Engineer: Peter Ceronio Produced by West Nkosi |
ABACOTHOZI
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TRACK LISTING
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ARTISTS
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NOTESThe title here, Night in Pelican, refers to the famed Orlando East club — the Pelican — a popular music hub and "laboratory" for a number of seminal bands of the mid 1970s. Run by Lucky Michaels, the club featured a house band led by Dick Khoza who was also employed as stage manager. In September 1976 Khoza took the Pelican house band into Rashid Vally's studios to record his classic Chapita album, issued at that time on Vally's As shams / The Sun label (and re-issued in 2010 by Matsuli.) Of course, four of the musicians featured on Chapita were drawn from the group Abacothozi, notably Bethuel Maphumulo, Joe Zikhali, Mac Mathunjwa, and his brother Innocent Negro Mathunjwa. Abacothozi were formed in 1973 by bassist, Berthuel Maphumulo, formerly of the Elite Swingsters. Together with Mac Mathunjwa on organ, Innocent Negro Mathunjwa on drums and Joe Zikhali on guitar, they recorded at least two albums: Thema Maboneng (Soul Jazz Pop, BL 59, December 1975) and Night in Pelican (Soul Jazz Pop, BL 66, February 1976). The two Abacothozi albums were recorded six weeks apart and predate the Chapita sessions with Dick Khoza by eight months. Mac Mathunjwa would go on to play keyboards with the Peddlers backing Mpharanyana. Night in Pelican features two long, single-sided tracks that slip out of the bump jive groove — the style that developed from Dollar Brand's seminal Mannenburg (1974). But where the early bump jive tracks have a slower, more jazzier reference to the majuba tradition, the tracks here are fast, funky and a lot more danceable — straddling the organ jive sounds of the Movers and the disco sound that would soon follow. In the early 1970s Gallo Mavuthela's jazz catalogue was apparently quite thin. The company that had perfected the short, highly successful mbaganga sound in the late 1960s, by 1975 was now trying to compete with Teal's lengthy, bump jive formula and subsequently recruited a number of their jazz veterans (including Ntemi Piliso, Michael Xaba and Ellison Themba) to record new material in a similar vein. The Members, the group developed out of this push, generated a number of long format tracks in the bump jive style in January and April of 1975 and were subsequently issued on Gallo's Soul Jazz Pop label. Mavuthela would continue the experiment with a number of other long format albums including The Webb by the Makhona Zonke Band and Abacothozi's Night in Pelican. But without too much success, the company soon returned to its winning mbaqanga formula with groups like Abafana Baseqhudeni. (Rob Allingham) The cover of Night in Pelican features artwork by Zulu Bidi, the bassist for Batsumi, who also designed the cover for their debut album as well as a number of other issues from this period. His Pelican album image features the band, presumably Abacothozi, in a somewhat psychedelic African landscape that channels the club itself with its patrons drinking and dancing to their vibe. |
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