Good News from Africa

Good News from Africa is an album of duets by pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, then known as Dollar Brand, and double bassist Johnny Dyani. It was recorded on December 10, 1973, at Tonstudio Bauer in Ludwigsburg, Germany, and was released in 1974 by the Swiss Cameo label and the German Enja label. The album features a blend of traditional African pieces and originals by Ibrahim.[1][2][3][4]

Good News from Africa
Studio album by
Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand) and Johnny Dyani
Released1974
RecordedDecember 10, 1973
StudioTonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg, Germany
GenreJazz
Length44:14
LabelCameo Records
102
Enja
ENJ-2048
ProducerBeat Burri
Abdullah Ibrahim chronology
Ode to Duke Ellington
(1974)		 Good News from Africa
(1974)		 Memories
(1974)
Johnny Dyani chronology
Music for Xaba
(1973)		 Good News from Africa
(1974)		 Songs for Mbizo
(1976)
Enja cover

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide[6]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz[7]

In a review for AllMusic, Brian Olewnick called the album "one of the single most beautiful recordings of the '70s," and wrote: "The duo mix in traditional African and Islamic songs and perform with a fervor and depth of feeling rarely heard in or outside of jazz... the rich, sonorous approach of these two musicians is evident, both singing in stirring fashion... Good News from Africa was the shining, transcendent release by both of these great musicians and one that should grace every listener's collection."[1]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings described the music as "fascinating and often moving duos, which move between a dark, almost tragic pessimism to a shouting, joyous climax."[5]

Percy Mabandu of New Frame noted that the album is "as much a personal celebration of newly found faith as it is an exploration of the complexity of identity in the area," and remarked: "The music they created mixes Islamic nasheeds, traditional African songs and expressions of early Africanist Christianity... Ibrahim and Dyani's historic record is an emblem of music in service to ideas beyond itself."[8]

Ethnomusicologist Carol Ann Muller stated that the album "conveys a complex, profound, and deeply moving story about contemporary forms of diaspora in the call-and-response, overlapping cries of these two exiled musicians in the non-European languages of Xhosa and Arabic."[9]

Track listing
  1. "Ntsikana's Bell" (Traditional) – 6:15
  2. "Msunduza" (Dollar Brand) – 4:37
  3. "Good News: Swazi / Waya-Wa-Egoli" (Dollar Brand) – 7:25
  4. "Adhan & Allah-O-Akbar" (Traditional) – 4:15
  5. "The Pilgrim" (Dollar Brand) – 9:50
  6. "Moniebah / The Pilgrim" (Dollar Brand) – 12:00

Personnel

References
  1. Olewnick, Brian. "Dollar Brand Duo: Good News from Africa". AllMusic. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  2. "Abdullah Ibrahim - Good News from Africa". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  3. "Enja Records main series discography". JazzLists. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  4. "Dollar Brand / Abdullah Ibrahim: Good News from Africa". Enja. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 674.
  6. Swenson, John, ed. (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. p. 342.
  7. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz. Virgin Books. p. 435.
  8. Mabandu, Percy (May 3, 2022). "The divine message of 'Good News From Africa'". New Frame. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  9. Muller, Carol Ann (2014). "Remembrance, Exile, and the Remaking of South African Jazz". In Bithell, Caroline; Hill, Juniper (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Music Revival. Oxford University Press. p. 656.
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