This excellent compilation, featuring a song apiece from the "big men on the SA jazz campus", is another creditable release from the Sheer Sound folk who seem determined to increase the list of essential CDs on their roster. If Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' could set Richard Branson and his Virgin label on their path to mega-success then there is no reason why one of these artists can't do the same for Sheer Sound. I still believe that the Paul Hanmer 'Trains To Taung' album could do it singlehandedly but with artists of this calibre being supported and given creative licence to turn out the musical goods, global recognition and fandom are surely just around the corner.

Its 13 tracks feature some of the "horniest" ous around. Mike Makhalemele's evocative'Soweto Dawn' rubs shoulders with Pops Mohamed's 'Lolly's Song' off his wonderful 'Ancestral Healing' album. Trumpeter Dennis Mpale contributes 'Paying My Bills' and Moses Molelekwa kicks off the album with the sparkling 'Down Rocky Street', a Jo'burg soundtrack in search of a movie if ever there was one. Jazz heavyweights Winston Mankunku, George Lee, Bheki Mseleku and Caiphus Semenya will satisfy the purists while ex-Tananas bassist Gito Baloi and cool guitarist Tony Cox keep the mood fun and light. The two Siphos, Mabuse and Gumede, are represented by 'Jive Kwaito' and 'Jessica' respectively.

So, there's enough quality and variety on this collection to keep everyone happy as well as providing a showcase to those ears out there who still don't believe that the African music renaissance has already started down south. (Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman)

Cheikh Lo - Ne La Thiass



Some "judges" have called this "the World Music Album of the year". We know this because it's mentioned it on the CD's back cover. Mmm, sounds a bit dubious and under normal circumstances would induce a reviewer to toss it on the pile marked "Hype-warning". But this Cheikh shares a surname (and a Senegalese citizenship) with Ismael Lo, whose two fantastic albums 'Iso' and 'Jammu Afrika' are firm favourites in SA. So maybe they are related (unconfirmed) or the surname Lo is like MBE or OBE in Senegal, in which case this album gets the obligatory listen. Good decision!

The album was recorded and produced by Youssou N'Dour in his Studio Xippi in Senegal. N'Dour obviously saw the potential in this young artist and pulled out all the stops to make this the hype-deserving album that it is. The production is crisp and the mostly acoustic instruments weave a background spell around Cheikh Lo's soaring and expressive voice and words. These words are all in Senegalese, however, so a song like 'Set' turns out to be a plea to clean up the streets during a Dakar municipal strike. The songs mostly have a polyrhythmic energy, with traces of reggae and flamenco. 'Sant Maam', however, is a soft and beautiful piece that creates a soft centre to what is otherwise a busy and dynamic album. If you love the African sounds of Salif Keita, Youssou N'Dour and Ismael Lo then 'Ne La Thiass' is definitely worth Cheikh-ing out.

(Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman)

others in the REVIEWS