Words by Justin Turford

“One of the most soulful saxophone players in the world” - Paul Simon

Barney Rachabane was one of the few of the 1950s cohort of jazz musicians who continued on through the decline of South African Jazz in the 1980s and though recently retired was able to witness and partake in the glorious rebirth of the country’s unique take on the form in more recent times. A master saxophonist who played on Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ album (also a member of the touring band up to 2012), who also recorded with SA jazz giants Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim and has a back catalogue overflowing with supreme creativity.

Originally a proponent of Kwela - the popular pennywhistle led skiffle sound that took township street performers to an international stage in the 1960s, Barney began to explore other forms by the 1970s and in 1975 he formed the band Roots. Roots were a crack team of players that included trumpeter Dennis Mpale and fellow saxophonist Duke Makasi, bassist Sipho Gumede, Jabu Nkosi on keys and Peter Morake on drums. No hierarchy, just individuals playing and expressing themselves with no boundaries.

‘Roots’ their eponymously titled debut album has been lovingly reissued by the ever impressive Frederiksberg Records and it is a warm, funky and significant moment in South African jazz history. Touching on recognisable township motifs while bringing in that particularly American crossover soul-jazz sound, think Donald Byrd or Yusef Lateef at their most Afrocentric. ‘Emakhaya’ is a nine and a half minute groove of serious depth that resembles a stripped down Dollar Brand song allied with a mid-1970s Detroit jazz spirit. Tracks like ‘Poor Mother’ can only be Soweto born, a joyous saxophone led piece of Jive underpinned by a rhythm section that sounds like Stevie Wonder’s band at the time.

Like much of South African musical output of the Apartheid era, it is hard to discern what troubles Black musicians were experiencing at the time due to the joyful optimistic character of the music they were making and ‘Roots’ is no different. ‘Barney’s Shoes’ is so laidback, we could smoke a shisha to it, ‘Jabu’ reminds me of an instrumental outtake from Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ sessions if he had a Soweto brass section as opposed to one from Philadelphia. ‘School Girl’ is a more uptempo dancefloor piece with a nod to the Curtom Records style soul band. Every track is ace, a looseness and assurance in each others capabilities give the whole record a feeling of relaxed exuberance. A winner.

This was probably the first SA album of it’s kind and they only remained together for one more album but it would set a new standard and inspire the later jazz fusion experiments of Pacific Express and Spirits Rejoice.

“We were just doing original music by a group of individual musicians. We just put out what we had. Not just one direction. As you can hear, the music is quite diverse,” - Barney Rachabane

RELEASED ON FEBRUARY 1st 2021 on FREDERIKSBERG RECORDS

BUY HERE! https://frederiksbergrecords.bandcamp.com/album/roots