Music of South Africa, Part two

	ALLEN KWELA BLACK BEAUTY (Matsuli Music MM126) We know "Kwela" as penny whistle music from the Townships of South Africa, but this is Kwela in name only: it is closer to lounge-style American jazz. It's a reissue of a 1975 album by a guitarist with major affinity to Wes Montgomery and George Benson in his style, but with that unmistakable South African marabi swing underpinning it. The horn players and the rest of the band are really on point, which is helpful. Personally I am less thrilled by single note, plectrum-plucked electric guitar jazz leads, it's just something I don't get. Django of course is an exception, but Grant Green and similar artists don't engage me the way their counterparts in Congo, Mali, or Senegal do. Now if you do like jazz guitar then there's a good helping of it here. Despite my misgivings, the mood is great, and overall there are some wonderful parts: the big band feel of "Mild Storm" sweeps you along on a wave. The session players are unlisted, but expert ears identify Kippie Moeketsi on alto, backed by Barney Rachabane on second alto, Stanley Sithole on tenor and the great Sipho Gumede on bass. Despite the recording locale, there is a Brasilian samba feel to the beat underpinning "Quaphela." But, apparently the producer wanted them to imitate Abdullah Ibrahim's epic Mannenberg album, which was a huge hit, and the arrangements suggest something of that kind, but the guitarist steps out in his own direction while the pianist (Dimpie Tshabalala) comps. And while I say "his own direction," it is definitely heading towards George Benson's "Breezin" (1976). The last track, "Willow Vale," is also familiar: it reminded me instantly of "This Masquerade" (written by Leon Russell, but also recorded by Benson). Maybe this gives a sense of the overall feeling of this disc: it is mellow and accomplished, the horns really make it swing and the luxuriant ambiance is something you will appreciate when unwinding.
	MALOMBO JAZZ MAKERS DOWN LUCKY'S WAY (Tapestry Works TWLP02) "It never rains but it pours" is true also of music discoveries. When Vampisoul started reissuing salsa albums from Venezuela, El Palmas Music jumped in and poured a torrent of Venezuelan albums on the market, and they are all worth checking out. Just last month Strut announced they were reissuing the first two albums of South African group Malombo Jazz Makers from 1966. And now we have another, from Tapestry Works. Down Lucky's Way was their third album, from 1969. I have a great appreciation for Malombo thanks to Man Phily (1986), the compilation put out by Günter Gretz of Popular African Music, which was one of many gems he issued on vinyl from his base in Germany. That original Malombo featured Philip Tabane on guitar with a mellow jazz-influenced set of dreamy and hypnotic music. Tabane left and the group reformed as the Malombo Jazz Makers, now with Lucas "Lucky" Madumetja Ranku on guitar, still keeping Julian Bahula on percussion and Abbey Cindi on flute and soprano sax. Their name comes from the traditional malompo drums you hear on here, that are used in healing ceremonies. While the music is instrumental it was felt to be deeply political: using indigenous instruments to express themselves in apartheid South Africa. Gallo recorded the album but very few copies made it to market, either it was suppressed or deleted, because Malombo were known as trouble-stirrers. Music as a weapon! The titles are in Sotho, including "Matshenyogo," which means "The Struggle." As Bahula said, "the Boers were too stupid to learn our language so we could get away with titles like that." They toured clandestinely with Steve Biko, the student activist, and appeared on stage with white musicians, either wearing masks or painted with UV paint. Their concerts often ended with Special Branch officers tossing smoke bombs into the crowd. Then the police started looking for Bahula, showing up at his home demanding to know where he was. One thing they knew for sure was his drumming was getting to them. Finally Julian and Lucky were forced to flee to England in 1974 where they joined with Dudu Pukwana and even appeared on the Specials' hit "Free Nelson Mandela," singing chorus. But here, in their prime, we can appreciate their talents, stretching out in wonderful long jams. There is a continuity with the mellow, jazzy Tabane vibe which is what Cindi and Bahula wanted when they realized Tabane was too unreliable to tour and stick with them. For this disc they added bass and some discreet organ, which fills out the sound nicely. How mellow is it? "Tribute to A. Motjuoadi" is based on "Silent Night" which is about as laid back as you can get!
	MALOMBO JAZZ MAKERS DOWN LUCKY'S WAY (Tapestry Works TWLP02) "It never rains but it pours" is true also of music discoveries. When Vampisoul started reissuing salsa albums from Venezuela, El Palmas Music jumped in and poured a torrent of Venezuelan albums on the market, and they are all worth checking out. Just last month Strut announced they were reissuing the first two albums of Malombo Jazz Makers from 1966. And now we have another, from a new label, Tapestry Works. Down Lucky's Way was their third album, from 1969. I have a great appreciation for Malombo thanks to Man Phily (1986), the compilation put out by Günter Gretz of Popular African Music, which was one of many gems he issued on vinyl from his base in Germany. That original Malombo featured Philip Tabane on guitar with a mellow jazz-influenced set of dreamy and hypnotic music. Tabane left and the group reformed as the Malombo Jazz Makers, now with Lucas "Lucky" Madumetja Ranku on guitar, still keeping Julian Bahula on percussion and Abbey Cindi on flute and soprano sax. Their name comes from the traditional malompo drums you hear on here, they are used in healing ceremonies, and though the music is instrumental it was felt to be deeply political: using indigenous instruments to express themselves in apartheid South Africa. Gallo recorded the album but very few copies made it to market, either it was suppressed or deleted, because Malombo were known as trouble-stirrers. Music as a weapon! The titles are in Sotho, including "Matshenyogo," which means "The Struggle." As Bahula said, "the Boers were too stupid to learn our language so we could get away with titles like that." They toured clandestinely with Steve Biko, the student activist, and appeared on stage with white musicians, either wearing masks or painted with UV paint. Their concerts often ended with Special Branch officers tossing smoke bombs into the crowd. Then the police started looking for Bahula, showing up at his home demanding to know where he was. One thing they knew for sure was his drumming was getting to them. Finally Julian and Lucky were forced to flee to England in 1974 where they joined with Dudu Pukwana and even appeared on the Specials' hit "Free Nelson Mandela," singing chorus. But here, in their prime, we can appreciate their talents, stretching out in wonderful long jams. There is a continuity with the mellow, jazzy Tabane vibe which is what Cindi and Bahula wanted when they realized Tabane was too unreliable to tour and stick with them. For this disc they added bass and some discreet organ, which fills out the sound nicely. How mellow is it? "Tribute to A. Motjuoadi" is based on "Silent Night" which is about as laid back as you can get!
	MAHLATHINI AND THE MAHOTELLA QUEENS MUSIC INFERNO: THE INDESTRUCTIBLE BEAT TOUR 1988-89 (Umsakazo Records) The "Indestructible Beat of Soweto" was the name given to a series of groundbreaking albums issued by Earthworks (London) in the mid-1980s, compiled by a couple of South African expatriates, Jumbo Vanrenan and Trevor Herman. From these compilations emerged some stellar names, Soul Brothers, Abafana Baseqhudeni, Moses Mchunu, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and of course Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, who soon had their own albums reissued in England. Malcolm McLaren and Paul Simon took note, as did the rest of the hip music audience and when the, admittedly now aging, M&M Queens came on a world tour in 1988 we were all ready to jive. I had the pleasure of meeting them in person but also the absolute thrill of seeing them perform with the hardest working band in show business, who at the time were the Makgona Tshole Band, comprised of Joseph Makwela (bass), Philemon Hamole (drums), Marks Mankwane (lead guitar), Sipho Madondo (rhythm), with West Nkosi on sax and pennywhistle. David Mzwandile also joined the tour on keyboards and accordion. This band were the inventors of mbaqanga, the hard-driving sound of South Africa's townships through the sixtes and seventies. When they toured they could draw on innumerable hits, such as "Thokozile," "Jive Makgona," "Melodi ya lla," and "Kazet" which they performed with even more energy than on the albums, belying their 30 years on stage. Only James Brown maintained that level of intensity into his older years. This was their key: as dynamic as they were on record, they were astonishing to behold live. The Queens in their grass skirts bounded onto the stage followed by the skinny "Lion of Soweto," the deep growling Simon Mahlathini. When the spirit grabbed him he would also leap into traditional Zulu dance moves as the band pounded away with their breakbeat tempo. Their tours were legendary and now a fan, who travelled with them as a photographer and preserved the board tapes from their English shows, has creamed the crop to create the sequence of a real show (including a break for the Queens in the middle with Nkosi performing his own hit "Stokfel Jive"). In addition to the 16 tracks on the LP or CD, there is a startling digital gift for downloaders of two bonus tracks and two sound checks from Ronnie Scott's. These latter are really amazing: both made on June 12, 1988 and showing the band merely warming up, trying out the sound system, but it is spontaneous jamming and finally when Simon comes in singing they get something like a tune together but are essentially just grooving for their own amusement. As Mahlathini was fond of saying, "It's nice, nice!" and as the Queens invariably said, "Yebo!"
	VUSI MAHLASELA, NORMAN ZULU & JIVE CONNECTION FACE TO FACE (Strut Records) Vusi Mahlasela, Norman Zulu & Jive Connection takes us right back to the era of Sly & the Family Stone, and Gil Scott Heron. Vusi was a voice of the anti-apartheid struggle and left Pretoria, South Africa for Sweden where he joined up with guitarist Stefan Bergman and drummer Erik Bodin in Jive Connection. He returned to South Africa for Live 8 (Johannesburg, 2005) and Nelson Mandela's inauguration, and he toured the US with Hugh Masekela a decade ago. This album was recorded back in 2002 and has only recently been unearthed. It has soul and jazz grooves and a dash of reggae, but mainly hearkens back to the sounds of the 70s. Norman Zulu is another singer/songwriter, who grew up in Soweto and brings a Township vibe to the studio. The two managed to teach the Swedes enough Zulu to sing back-up in a Ladysmith Black Mambazo harmony style. The sax and organ are definitely up for it, and contribute to a warm township feel. There is a bonus single "Faceless People," reminiscent of the Last Poets, added in two takes to sweeten the deal, and the set stretches out enough to get to Jamaica, with the mellow rootsy title track, "Face to Face." This has a nice Ernie Ranglin-influenced guitar lead. For more flavor of the past, "In Komo" suggests Malombo with jagged guitar over what you might call Azanian drumming. I recognize the chorus of "Intombi ye Mbali" from a South African township album I had 40 years ago and now can't remember the group's name. It's probably a famous refrain, or just accepted as part of the folk canon. "Prodigal Son" also reveals the influence of Masekela, suggesting this album is an overview of Vusi and Norman's heritage.
	ABDULLAH IBRAHIM SOLOTUDE: MY JOURNEY, MY VISION (Gearbox Records) I reviewed Abdullah Ibrahim's scarce first album, Dollar Brand Trio plays Sphere Jazz, on here not so long ago, when it was reissued. While he has not appeared in these pages often, he has been a constant in my life, up to this most recent album which came out at the end of 2021 and which has been nominated for a Grammy. Jazz was big in Ibrahim's native South Africa in the 1930s, a quite unique spot for this cultural exchange, and there a band called the Jazz Maniacs played Basie and Ellington with a Zulu tinge! In the 'fifties young men like trumpeter Hugh Masekela and Ibrahim began playing jazz too. In 1959 Ibrahim (born Adolph Brand; he got the name Dollar Brand because he was always scoring foreign currency to try to buy jazz records off American servicemen), and Masekela formed the Jazz Epistles (inspired by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers) with Kippie Moeketsi and Jonas Gwanga, becoming the first South African bebop band and the first to record. But in 1960 the Sharpeville Massacre (when Afrikaner police killed 69 unarmed demonstrators against apartheid) caused the band to flee the country: Masekela to the USA and Brand to Switzerland. Masekela soon had a pop hit with "Grazin' in the Grass" and Brand (who converted to Islam in 1968 and became Abdullah Ibrahim), was spotted in a Zurich nightclub by touring Duke Ellington who got him a recording contract. He soon moved to the USA also where he deputized for Ellington on tour. I have been fortunate to see Ibrahim in concert several times, in fact any time he comes to the Bay Area, I am there. The last time, 4 years ago, was quite funny in a perverse way. Ibrahim was scheduled to perform at San Francisco Jazz (which started out as an annual festival but then they bought a building and now have a regular schedule). When Masekela died in 2018, SF Jazz held a memorial concert with the remaining Jazz Epistles, now performing as Ekaya. Wadada Leo Smith was invited to play the trumpet with this distinguished group, but clearly the rest of the band were not impressed with the American, playing over his solos, changing the charts on the fly, in short, making him feel left out and sound like a chump whenever he tried to show off. So it was a weird night. Nevertheless it is always a treat to see Ibrahim perform, even though he is 88 and has slowed down a bit. This solo album has many of his familiar grooves and licks: he will throw in a quote from "Getting Sentimental over You" or "Caravan" and then invert it, change the emphasis and find a new riff buried within. The set was recorded live in a concert hall near his home in Chiemgau, East Germany (from where he did a memorable Tiny Desk concert last year). "Blue Bolero" (which appears thrice), "Blues for a Hip King," and "The Wedding" show some variations from earlier recordings, which is where we listen and learn. Like Monk, Ibrahim has no compunction about playing the same tunes over and over: In 1973 he released The Pilgrim and then Good News which featured another take of the "The Pilgrim" on it. In 1977 Cape Town Fringe also had a long workout on "The Pilgrim." "The Wedding" showed up on a soundtrack album he did and also on Water from an Ancient Well (1986), and African Marketplace (1984), and I am only referring to albums I own. "The Wedding" is now reflective, no longer a joyful processional but an introspective musing. (The Duchess complained it sounded like a funeral! — she is not entirely wrong...) While he is slower, his touch is sure. And the pensive majestic building underscores his compositional strength, like the way "Blues for a Hip King" merges into "District 6" with a stately vamp. The tracks flow together, a nice touch, as he takes the lid off to show us the workings. As if to say, here it's quite simple, but can you do it? Just how big are your hands?! Some of the pieces are 14, 22 or 40 seconds. Just long enough to get a breath.
	THE MOVERS 1970-76 (Analog Africa AACD035) Africa in the 1970s was feeling the impact of American music like never before, through radio and the expansion of global travel: Africans felt they could be as sophisticated as Europeans and Americans, at least in their minds. We saw how the gospel of James Brown was brought back to Nigeria by Fela Kuti after his visits to the West, but a lesser-known influence was the Booker T sound, not to mention the whole of Memphis and Stax-Volt and it resonated in South Africa, where the Movers were a tight organ-led combo up to the task of emulating the Scallion Master. They achieve strong effects with simple chord progressions and tight playing. And they have soul. These are mostly two-and-a-half to three minute tunes with the driving organ to the fore and the tight bass and drums holding down the bottom. It's not until track 5, "Kudala Sithandana," that they show their ability to play what we came to know as Zulu Jive, or Mbaqanga, though doubtless it had many other aspects and names. But we are soon back in the "Midnight Hour" as the chords for "Oupa is Back" indicate. Oupa is guitarist Oupa Hlongwane, the organist and band leader was Sankie Chounyane, and vocalist Blondie Makhene. Instrumental music was a key to a band's success in Apartheid South Africa, so there are few vocals on here, but the music is jamming. "Six Mabone," (different from the version by Boyoyo Boys) has the same chords as the Troggs' "Love is all around," from 1967 — can there be a connection? The Movers' first album from Teal in 1969 sold half a million copies and they became the first band to cross over to the white radio stations, according to Samy Ben Redjeb's liner notes. He also tells us that they seem to have vanished from the face of the earth: not surprising given the ups and down of life as a musician. The original band members were all replaced over time, but Analog Africa presents the cream of their output here.
	ONE NIGHT IN PELICAN AFRO MODERN DREAMS 1974-7 (Matsuli Music MM125) If you lived in South Africa in the 1970s and hankered for a bit of nightlife you might find yourself at Club Pelican, Soweto's first nightclub (which was definitely on the wrong side of the tracks). This album recreates the epitome of what you might have encountered in this spot, with a sample of groups playing Soul, Funk, Disco and Jazz. I am trying to remember concerts I went to the in the 1970s, living here in California, and remember Mahavishnu Orchestra, Pharoah Sanders, Dexter Gordon, Roland Kirk, McCoy Tyner, Captain Beefheart and a ton of rock and roll acts from the Pretenders to Ian Dury & the Blockheads opening for Lou Reed — but of course most of those bands did not tour to South Africa. (Remember "I ain't gonna play Sun City"!?) Instead we hear here bands called The Black Pages, The Drive and The Headquarters. The jazz tracks are engaging; the Disco one sucks, like all disco. Standouts include "Pelican Fantasy" by jazz Ensemble of Rhythm and Art, featuring Khaya Mahlangu on tenor and Dennis Mpale on trumpet. It's an interesting mix, and most of it instrumental. Lyric content was censored to avoid anyone working in oblique criticisms of the Apartheid government. The Shyannes' sound is sophisticated in a Commodores kind of way; Almon Memela's Soweto perform "Pelican City" with a driving Booker T-like organ and massed "Tower of Power" horns. It's hard not to compare them to better-known American acts as it seems they are all trying to sound like they are from Detroit, Chicago or Philadelphia. But their rotating presence in this one club drove them to high levels of competition and quality playing. My favorite band, who backed Mahlathini, are here as Makhona Zonke Band with Teaspoon and West Nkosi on alto saxes, Marks Mankwane on guitar, Joseph Makwela, bass, and Lucky Monama on drums. Other luminaries of the scene appear here and there, including sax player Duku Makasi, keyboard player Bheki Mseleku, and bassist Sipho Gumede. Skip the disco track and you have some fine, sharp playing. And, as usual with Matsuli, the remastering is flawless, giving crystal clear audio, and the packaging with rare photos and histories is impeccable.
	MAKGONA TSOHLE BAND MAKGONA TSOHLE REGGI (Umsakazo Records UM-106) Ever since my first concert -- Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry, back in the 1960s -- I have seen many bands perform live. The Stones, the Who, the Kinks, the Animals from England; in America I have seen great acts from Toots and the Maytals to Morris Day & the Time, from Zappa and Beefheart to James Brown and his Famous Flames. From Africa I have seen Sunny Adé, Fela Kuti, Empire Bakuba, Sam Mangwana, Quatre Etoiles, Papa Wemba; most of them more than once. But if you asked me who were the hottest live band I ever witnessed, I would instantly tell you the Makgona Tsohle band. But wait, you say, who are they? They toured behind Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens and tore up the stage in concert. I saw their show at Slim's in San Francisco and drove down the coast to Santa Cruz to catch them the next night. They were in the parking lot of the club, having just done the sound check when I got there, so I went up to tell them I was a fan. You drove all this way? they asked, incredulously. I saw them on every tour after that, with Simon Mahlathini and also, after his death, backing the Mahotella Queens. Back in the day, with West Nkosi, they created South African sax jive. This is an instrumental album, along the line of Booker T & the MGs or Tommy McCook and the Skatalites and they do indeed cover R&B and ska sounds on here, as well as their own rough & ready Zulu jive, called Mbaqanga. Some enterprising soul dug into the Gallo archives to find uncollected tapes by the band in their early days so these dozen tracks constitute their first album, though they appear in several guises. The album appeared in 1970 and has been pressed again in a limited edition of 400 copies. West Nkosi plays sax, Marks Mankwane is lead guitar, Vivian Ngubane plays rhythm, Kid Moncho plays organ and the ultra-tight rhythm section is Joseph Makwela on bass and Lucky Monama on drums. They should be well-known as the hardest working band in show business, but maybe this album will get them some more credit for the tsunami of music they blasted forth from the townships 50 years ago.
	IBRAHIM KHALIL SHIHAB QUINTET SPRING (Matsuli Music MM118) 2020 was a bad year and now winter is upon us with its short days and long cold nights but we have Spring to look forward to! And like a Spring breeze fluttering the daffodils, here comes an airy waft of warming South African post-bop jazz. Matsuli have a good track record of reissuing lost gems of South African music but this one scores high on both counts: not only was it lost but it is a diamond. I suppose the cornerstone of South African jazz piano has to be Abdullah Ibrahim's work and this indeed recalls him in patches (especially on the title cut), but it also evokes the Americans Errol Garner and McCoy Tyner. Yes, this group reminds me more of the classic Trane quartet than Abdullah Ibrahim's outfit. Like Abdullah Ibrahim, this Ibrahim Shihab adopted Islam and changed his name from Chris Schilder. The tenor sax player, Winston "Mankunku" Ngozi, is indeed a Coltrane acolyte as is clear on his version of "You don't know what love is," which Trane recorded in 1962. He also admired Wayne Shorter, and Horace Silver and covered the latter on his solo album Yakhal' Inkomo, recorded contemporaneously with this. Here we are in 1968 when Shihab's quintet spent three months touring from their base in Cape Town. It was good they were road-sharp because they only had two hours in the studio to cut this disc, which means everything was done in one take. The album was pressed but an ignorant studio executive destroyed the master tapes, causing it to become a lost gem. Thanks to Matsuli it has been lovingly restored and can be appreciated by fans of classic jazz, no matter the country of origin. "Mankunku" shines radiantly, but the piano is wonderfully lyrical and the young rhythm section rock solid--all of them were in their early 20s. It's one album to put on repeat.
	THE DOLLAR BRAND TRIO PLAYS SPHERE JAZZ (Honey Pie Records LP008) It's interesting to hear the earliest, oft-forgotten recordings of some artist, in order to get a sense of their progression. I had always thought Abdullah Ibrahim's earliest recording was the 1964 Duke Ellington presents the Dollar Brand Trio: the story being that someone dragged Duke to a little after hours club in Zurich and he was blown away by the genius kid at the keyboard. That early album on Reprise was dedicated to Ellington (who hooked him up with his label) and had echoes of Duke, but also included "Brilliant Corners" by Monk and a tribute to South African saxophonist Kippi Moeketsi. However this 1960 South African release was recorded before Brand went into exile. (He also made a quintet recording later in 1960, with Hugh Masakela.) Brand got the nickname "Dollar" because he was always buying American jazz records from GIs, though few people were really into American jazz in Cape Town in the 1950s. His grandmother had a piano and sometimes he would wake up the house in the middle of the night with a thunderous "Take the A Train." By the mid-60s Brand had moved to New York and was subbing for Ellington in the Duke Ellington Orchestra! Ironically it was after his move to America that he began to incorporate African themes and elements into his music. In 1977 Brand became a Muslim and changed his name to Abdullah Ibrahim. By the time of "The Pilgrim" (1977), "The Wedding" (1978) and "The Mountain" (1986), Ibrahim had developed a rolling left hand arpeggio, involving a root-fifth-tenth run (for which you need big hands) and he himself was being copied by other pianists (for example the Köln concert of Keith Jarrett, as I have said before). Here in his earliest recorded work as a pianist, Brand shows us what he learned from Monk as well as Ellington. There's also Blues, and churchical rolling crescendoes. The second side, particularly, has a great sequence of Monk's "Misterioso" followed by Tin Pan Alley evergreen "Just you, just me," (which Monk also covered, and remade as "Evidence") and ends with a swinging "Eclipse at Dawn," an original composition. The effect of this LP is it leaves you wanting more, or starting it over.
	ROUGH GUIDE TO CAPE JAZZ (RG1399LP) This was a real let-down. Rough Guides have been doing well lately (especially their remastered Blues compilations) and then this thuds flat with barely 36 minutes that nowhere begins to tell the story of South African Cape jazz. It evolved independently of the rest of the continent and ranks alongside Dutch jazz (Misha Mengelberg, Willem Breuker) or French jazz (Hot Club, Barney Wilen) as a parallel strain to American jazz. Father Huddleston, Philip Tabane, Spokes Mashiyane, Dollar Brand, where are they? Sure, the Manhattan Brothers and the Skylarks have been anthologized before, but there's definitely room to revisit them. Basil Coetzee, saxy sideman to Dollar Brand, and Cape Jazz Band are familiar but the others come across as easy listening on a dinner jazz channel. Turns out this is a Mountain Records sampler, drawn from one label, which is why it has a homogenized sound and doesn't really explore the dynamic range of Cape Town's jazz scene. There is a vaguely ersatz Cape feeling when accordion and funk bass enter "The Dance of our fathers" by the Cape Jazz Band and pianist Ebrahim Shihab does a reasonable impression of Abdullah Ibrahim on "Give a little love." "7th Avenue" by guitarist Jonathan Butler is familiar: maybe it's "Cast you fate to the wind" variations. I think I know the melody from an Abdullah Ibrahim record. It's mellowness is quickly replaced by the dated synthesizer lead on "The way it used to be" by Pacific Express. I know Jan Hammer was big in his day (June 2, 1972), but I am not rushing out to listen to him now. It's a fact that a lot of really exciting jazz was released in South Africa during the apartheid era and Matsuli music of London is doing the best job of bringing it back to our ears. Maybe Rough Guide would consider a Matsuli sampler to remedy this mis-step.