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African Bass

Dyani Johnny

African Bass

Label: Red Records

Genre: Jazz / Avant Garde

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  • CD €19.99
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Reissue of a 1979 duo recording of legendary South African bassist Johnny Dyani (of The Blue Notes) and drummer Clifford Jarvis (who played with Sun Ra for over two decades).

Johnny 'Mbizo' Dyani was a jazz musician who performed during the apartheid era. He played for almost his entire career in exile before passing away in West Berlin, Germany at the age of 39. Dyani actively fought against the apartheid regime through the medium of music and assisted the African National Congress (ANC) by performing at events in Africa and Europe. Johnny Dyani is best known for his membership with the Blue Notes, an interracial band that performed for a brief period in South Africa before moving to Europe.

Johnny M. Dyani: bass, piano, voice
Clifford Jarvis: drums, voice

"I could play jazz, but, first of all, I play black music. We have a message. Louis Armstrong had it, Ellington had it, and Gillespie has it. It can be political, sociological, economic, it can be about the good times or the bad ones. It is our way of communicating. You don't have to read big books about a country or a population to know what they want. Listen to the music and you will know what they have to say." Johnny M. Dyani