Bheki Mseleku | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Bheki Mseleku fused elements of traditional African township music, American bebop, and his own devout, far-reaching spirituality to emerge as the premier South African jazz pianist of his generation. Born Bhekumuzi Hyacinth Mseleku in Durban, South Africa on March 3, 1955, he was the son of a music teacher. Still, the senior Mseleku was a deeply religious man who feared any of his seven children would gravitate towards a life as a professional musician and kept the familys piano locked away, eventually chopping up the instrument for firewood. Mselekus mother nevertheless slipped him the key whenever her husband was away from home, and over time the boy taught himself to play -- he even adapted his emerging style after a go-cart accident claimed the top joints of two fingers, compensating for his reduced hand span by developing a more accelerated and efficient technique. By his early teens, Mseleku was gigging on electric organ as a member of a semi-professional local group dubbed the Expressions, and in 1975 he relocated to Johannesburg to join the hard bop unit the Drive. He later co-founded the progressive jazz project Spirits Rejoice alongside bassist Sipho Gumede before signing on with multi-instrumentalist Philip Tabane in his popular group Malombo. Mseleku first earned international attention during a performance with Malombo at the 1977 Newport Jazz Festival. At the event, he also met his boyhood idol McCoy Tyner as well as harpist Alice Coltrane, who later gave him the mouthpiece employed by her late husband John during the sessions that yielded the jazz landmark A Love Supreme. Mseleku returned to Johannesburg to find its oppressive apartheid culture virtually unbearable, and after a brief tenure in Botswana where he supported trumpeter Hugh Masekela, he and percussionist/composer Eugene Skeef relocated to Stockholm. While Mseleku occasionally collaborated with expatriate trumpeter Don Cherry, he spent much of his time in Sweden living hand to mouth, struggling with diabetes and other physical ailments. He moved to London in 1985, and two years later finally earned the acclaim and recognition long due him after pianist Horace Silver helped him land a two-week residency at the famed jazz club Ronnie Scotts. Even Scott, who rarely spoke to the media, rang up jazz critics to enthuse about Mselekus performances. Often playing unaccompanied, with a tenor saxophone (his alternative weapon of choice) cradled in his lap, the pianists deeply meditative and technically flawless sets quickly became the stuff of legend, attracting fellow jazz players spanning from Courtney Pine to Steve Williamson, both of whom later guested on Mselekus star-studded 1991 debut LP Celebration. The albums lengthy gestation was a result of Mselekus adverse reaction to his newfound fame: later diagnosed as bipolar, he followed his Ronnie Scotts residency by fleeing London for the safety and comfort of a Buddhist temple, living for two years without a telephone or even a piano. The critical success of Celebration nevertheless returned Mseleku to the spotlight, and in 1992 he issued his second LP, Meditations, documenting a live solo set at the annual Bath International Music Festival. That same year he was also featured on ITVs The South Bank Show. As Mselekus international profile grew, he toured Europe, the U.S., the Far East, and India, and guested on recording sessions headlined by Pine, fellow South African Sibongile Khumalo, and others. His third album, 1994s Verve label effort Timelessness, featured collaborations with American jazz icons including saxophonists Pharoah Sanders and Joe Henderson, drummer Elvin Jones, and vocalist Abbey Lincoln. In its wake, Mseleku also joined Hendersons touring band before traveling to Los Angeles and teaming with Ornette Colemans one-time rhythm section of bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins for the 1995 LP Star Seeding. For this third and final Verve date, 1997s Beauty of Sunrise, Mseleku assembled another all-star unit, this one including Jones and Coltranes saxophonist son Ravi. By this time he was again headquartered in Johannesburg, but the experience took its toll on his psyche. Mselekus generosity quickly depleted his major-label earnings, and robbers stole his prized Coltrane mouthpiece, a loss that haunted him for the remainder of his life. In 2003 Mseleku recorded his final album Home at Last, a session that paired him with local musicians. Though cited by critics as the purest distillation of his singular aesthetic, the record fared poorly at retail, and to make ends meet the pianist turned to teaching. He returned to London in 2006 in search of more stable work, although his worsening diabetes limited his ability to perform. An extended residency at the Johannesburg club Bassline was already scheduled when Mseleku died on September 9, 2008. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 4 Title: Celebration Released: 1992 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:10:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Celebration (07:52) 2 One for All - All for One (07:45) 3 Angola (07:26) 4 Blues for Afrika (06:19) 5 The Age of Inner Knowing (10:22) 6 The Messenger (04:26) 7 Joy (07:17) 8 Supreme Love (06:52) 9 Cycle (06:37) 10 Closer to the Source (05:58) |
| Celebration : Allmusic album Review : South African pianist Bheki Mseleku has been a familiar name in Englands jazz circles but, to date, has not recorded for any major or independent American label. This album, recorded mostly in London in 1991, has now been issued domestically by Rounder. While his percussive, slashing style is reminiscent of McCoy Tyner and Don Pullen, he has his own voicings, phrasing, rhythmic drive, and sound. A corps of talented saxophonists handle frontline duties, among them Courtney Pine, Jean Toussaint, and Steve Williamson. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 4 Title: Timelessness Released: 1993-08-19 Tracks: 9 Duration: 1:17:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Timelessness (09:11) 2 Vukani (Wake Up) (08:46) 3 Looking Within (11:01) 4 C-Ton (Planet Earth) (10:28) 5 Through the Years (05:18) 6 Yanini (11:07) 7 Homeboyz (06:38) 8 Ntuli Street (06:08) 9 My Passion (09:16) |
| Timelessness : Allmusic album Review : On Bheki Mselekus American label debut, jazz greats Joe Henderson, Abbey Lincoln, Pharoah Sanders, and Elvin Jones, plus up-and-comers Kent Jordan and Rodney Kendrick, join the South African-born London resident and his trio mates Michael Bowie and Marvin "Smitty" Smith for a diverse program of Mseleku originals. And the stars make their presence felt. The uptempo title track has one of the best Henderson solos heard anywhere. The beautiful "Through the Years" features Lincolns lyrics and a heartfelt vocal. Sanders contributes some forceful tenor sax on the joyous "Yanini," while the bouncy "Homeboyz" puts the percussive piano vamp of Kendrick under Mselekus alto sax. As for Jones, the drum legend proves he is also a master of brushes and soft bass drum on the introspective "My Passion." Mseleku primarily plays McCoy Tyner-influenced piano on this recording, but his tenor and alto sax work are more than adequate. Timelessness is an impressive American label debut for this talented artist. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 4 Title: Star Seeding Released: 1995 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:11:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Ballad for the Saints (07:06) 2 Melancholy in Cologne (07:19) 3 Thula Mtwana (07:01) 4 The Age of the Divine Mother (08:19) 5 The Love of the Gods (07:39) 6 Mister Allard (07:05) 7 L.A. Soul Train Blues (08:30) 8 Echoes of the Winds of Truth (05:38) 9 Star Seeding (06:25) 10 The Sun Race Arise (06:35) |
| Star Seeding : Allmusic album Review : South African multi-instrumentalist Bheki Mseleku has picked bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins for this session, and they really lift the music to new heights for the leader. Known primarily as a pianist, Mseleku plays a lot of overdubbed tenor sax on the date, ranging from breezy Stan Getz romanticism to Joe Henderson-like lyrical bluesiness, both styles are quite attractive. Mselekus piano playing is world class, elegant, mostly understated, dancing, lyrical, and very bluesy. The music is mainstream jazz-oriented as opposed to township influenced. Of the ten originals from Mselekus pen, two reflect the Stan Getz bossa construct: "The Love of the Gods" and "The Sun Race Arise" have that breathy quality typical of this subgenre. More bluesy and less legato and animated is the easy swinger for sax teacher Joe Allard titled "Mister Allard," with its sax and piano unison lines, and the clearly "Nardis"-like phrasings used on the good swinging romp "L.A. Soul Train Blues." The title track has a quirkier melody than the rest, and more Bud Powell-like bebop phrasings within an easy swinging framework, and Mseleku overdubs tenor sax, guitar, and vocal over his piano for the 7/4 modal "Thula Mtwana," a deeply spiritual near Yoruban chant. The piano-bass-drums trio selections have him paraphrasing "Naima" during a brighter, more upbeat "Ballad for the Saints," using a ballad-to-waltz, slow-to-quicker pacing on "The Age of the Divine Mother," and evoking straight-ahead jazz-based, downhearted blues inflections on the steady ballad "Melancholy in Cologne." Theres also a solo piano piece, the cascading, tumbling lyricism on "Echoes of the Winds of Truth." With smaller ensembles Mseleku has made some bold music, but stripped to a trio and adding his personal touch, Mseleku has struck a chord with his muse on this truly beautiful recording. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 4 Title: Beauty of Sunrise Released: 1997 Tracks: 9 Duration: 1:02:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Violet Flame (07:06) 2 Adored Value (06:27) 3 Love Joe (05:24) 4 Aja (06:16) 5 Suluman Saud (08:14) 6 Nearer Awakening (08:34) 7 Monks Move (06:23) 8 Woodys Tune (08:43) 9 Beauty of Sunrise (05:38) |
| Beauty of Sunrise : Allmusic album Review : BEAUTY OF SUNRISE is the child of hard bop and the modal music of the 1960s. Jazz legends and their progeny abound; trumpeter Graham Haynes, son of the great jazz drummer Roy Haynes, produced. Other performers include John Coltranes son Ravi Coltrane and Elvin Jones, drummer in Coltranes famous quartet. "Suluman Sand" puts African chanting in the context of a jazz tune. The steps taken beyond hard bop by trumpeter Woody Shaw are acknowledged in "Woodys Tune." On the title track, African Mseleku borrows from Brazil to offer us a samba meditation on, naturally, the beauty of sunrise. | ||