Reviews of Southern Grooves MBDR001
Want to dance the night away? Then Mbawula are here for you. A joyous fusion of South African dance grooves, great singing and big jazz-style arrangements, ‘Southern Grooves' would cut a good-time swathe through any Saturday night out. The brain child of former Jools Hollands' Rhythm and Blues Orchestra arranger and saxophonist Paul Bartholomew, Mbawula features a welter of great individual musicians who combine to produce a truly funky, highly rhythmic and beautifully played album that speaks to the head, heart and feet. The array of musicians is startling. The big band includes South African pianist and harmonica player, Adam Glasser (Dudu Pukwana and Sting), West African guitarist Kari Bannerman (Osibisa, High Masekela) and African percussion star, Francis Fuster. Vocal groups come courtesy of the mightily celebrated ‘Queen of African Song' – Sonti Mndebele and South Africa's all-time great Township singers, The Manhattan Brothers – Joe Mogotsi, Walther Loate and Josh Makhene – while ‘Mra Khali' features a guest vocal from Pinese Saul. It's no wonder Mbawula were chosen, alongside Ladysmith Black Mambazo and REM, to entertain Nelson Mandela at London 's Freedom South Africa Day's celebrations last summer. The band name is Zulu for ‘full of fire' and ‘Southern Grooves' is just that – a wondrous meeting of Basie, Ellington, African Township and Jive music that sails on an inspired vibe.
Get Rhythm Magazine: May 2002
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Mbawula is a Zulu word, meaning cooking stove. It was with this aesthetic in mind that British Composer and saxophonist Paul Bartholomew, erstwhile member of the Jools Holland Band, and South African pianist Adam Glasser – a former collaborator with Sting – formed their 15-piece ensemble back in 1998. The result was a brassy, jazz-fired collision of South Africa and South London that took in everything from Basie-esque blues to the Township jive of Sophiatown. On Southern Grooves the voices of diva Sonti Nomasonto and the legendary Manhattan Brothers – Joe Mogotsi, Walther Loate, Josh Makhene – are thrown into the already heady mix; elsewhere things simmer along nicely with a series of deft solos from, notably, trombonist Mark Bassey, alto saxophonist Peter Whyman, Francis Fuster on percussion and Glasser and Bartholomew themselves. Adventurous, shiny, cordon bleu stuff.
Jazzwise: April 2002
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Paul Bartholomew, saxophonist and sometime arranger for the Jools Holland Orchestra, is a long-term lover of Count Basie and mbaqanga. So what we have here, this being his dream project, is township jive plus jazz, and a vivid marriage too. Great blaring horns and soloists bring the emotion of a Lancashire brass band to the kicking energy and winsome harmonies of South Africa , with vocals from the highly senior and respected Manhattan Brothers and Sonti Mndelebe. One potential pitfall is averted in that the arrangements have more than enough wit to break through the strictures of the jive genre – the rhythms are varied and the melodies more complex than might have been, while still true at heart to the South African idea. Mbawula means ‘cooking stove' in Zulu and that's appropriate: a big-hearted and tasty meal on offer here.
Rick Sanders
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‘A collision of South Africa and South London ' deadpans New Cross based saxophonist and musical director Paul Bartholomew. However, the group he leads, Mbawula, is rather less scary and considerably more enjoyable that that description might indicate. Fusion in all the best senses of the word.
TNT Magazine: February 2002
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‘Fantastic …wonderful ..Wow! – this is one of those rare occasions when I wish it was television rather than radio because they look as magnificent as they sound.'
Andy Kershaw, BBC Radio 3 with the band in session June 2002
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Quotes following a Mbawula concert with a children's Township Choir.
‘I have no doubt that our involvement has significantly increased the commitment of many students to choral singing.'
‘We would certainly relish the prospect of working with you again should the prospect arise.'
‘Comments on the bus back after the concert were along the lines of the performance being something they would remember all their lives'
Rosemary Leeke,
Deputy Headteacher, Thomas Tallis School, London SE3
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‘The show exceeded my wildest expectations. My grandson thought it was wicked…He has told his mum that he wants to join a choir'
Douglas Walters Sidcup,
Kent in a letter to Gavin Henderson
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‘I loved taking part, and I would love to do this type of thing again, as my dream is to become a singer' .
Gemma Farley, St Michaels School, Kent
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‘Last night at Blackheath was wonderful for Zoe. What an experience for a 10 year old!'
Linda Elliott Teacher, Bexley
