Ich weiss noch nicht, wo man das kriegen wird, aber die News ist schon ein paar Wochen alt und das Erscheinungsdatum fast da (2. Mai):
ANNOUNCING ASA105 // KIPPIE MOKETSI – Hard Top (1975 / 2025) •
Marking the 100th anniversary of Kippie Moeketsi’s brith in 1925 and officially joining his catalogue 50 years after it was recorded, Hard Top celebrates the multiple dimensions of a veritable South African jazz legend. The release also provides an opportunity to reflect on the unwavering support of his producer, fan and friend Rashid Vally, who passed away in December 2024.
Hard Top assembles the previously unreleased 1975 recordings of revered South African saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi (credited throughout the 1970s using the spelling variation Moketsi). The 2LP vinyl edition is presented in a gatefold sleeve featuring archival artwork by Mafa Ngwenya and comes from As-Shams on the heels of Tete Mbambisa’s previously unreleased African Day album in 2024.
By 1975, at the age of 50, saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi had already earned his stripes as a South African jazz figurehead. His tenure with the Jazz Epistles and the cast of the “South African Jazz Opera” King Kong in the late-1950s had not only marked his own rise in prominence but also seen him help catalyse the momentum of a younger generation of iconic artists who would go on to become the defining figures of modern South African jazz. While he didn’t enjoy the same international attention as his protégés Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim, his noble and dedicated career on the local jazz scene until his death in 1983 saw him forge an enduring legacy.
While Moeketsi did write some memorable compositions, it was in the role of interpreter that he shone most brightly. With its title derived from a good-natured nickname that nodded to Moeketsi’s elder status by way of his receding hairline, Hard Top is a covers album that looks back in time to the era of rhythm and blues while also indulging 1970s pop and funk with a decidedly South African vibe.
https://www.facebook.com/100032546664462/posts/1342750983486444/?_rdr
Gwenn Ansell hat schon darüber geschrieben:
https://sisgwenjazz.wordpress.com/2025/04/27/kippie-moeketsis-hard-top-finally-sees-the-light/
Digital kommt es ev. hier:
https://as-shams.bandcamp.com/album/hard-top
Den Link (und das Cover-Foto) habe ich von hier, da gibt’s auch Infos zum neuen Album:
https://as-shams-org.blogspot.com/2025/04/kippie-moketsi-hard-top.html
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Und hier auch von Ansell noch ein Text voller Hintergrund-Infos zu „Our Boys‘ Are Doin‘ It“, dem jüngst auf Vinyl und digital wieder aufgelegten Album von Dennis Mpale und Kippie Moeketsi:
https://sisgwenjazz.wordpress.com/2025/03/30/dennis-mpales-our-boys-are-doing-it-the-stories-behind-the-music/
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"Don't play what the public want. You play what you want and let the public pick up on what you doin' -- even if it take them fifteen, twenty years." (Thelonious Monk) | Meine Sendungen auf Radio StoneFM: gypsy goes jazz, #164: Neuheiten aus dem Archiv, 10.6., 22:00 | Slow Drive to South Africa, #8: tba | No Problem Saloon, #30: tba