MOMBASA

1. "Nairobi" (7:33) wah-wahed bass with drums and multiple percussion tracks creating an infectious groove over which trombonist Lou Blackburn solos. In the fourth minute trumpeter Charles Jefferson joins Lou for some harmonized horn banking before launching out on his own to dominate the fifth minute. Despite the electric bass, this song follows more of a traditional jazz form and sound. The play of the two soloists is solid but containing nothing to write home about whereas the bass and percussionists (and vocal leader) are pretty flashy. (13.5/15)

2. "Massai" (8:04) an okay song that feels more like an educational test for the band's unified syncopation and less of a dance or pop tune. (12.75/15)

3. "Holz" (4:23) Donald Coleman's bamboo flute plays over a slow, spacious weave of African percussion instruments. Nice for an African processional, not much else. (8.25/10)

4. "Kenia" (6:49) electric line sets up the African melody that the group chants with an African choir vocal until about 45-seconds in the band kicks into what sounds like it could be full Juju music but then it takes a few turns and feels more Caribbean or Santana-like as active bass, cowbell, congas, and Charles Jefferson's flugelhorn take us into the Carnival. Muted trumpet and trombone join together for a few coordinated bank bursts before a round of African chanting signals a turn toward full Santana-like Jazz-Rock Fusion for Lou to solo over. All throughout Gerald Luciano remains quite nimble in dancing over the fretboard of his electric bass and drummer Cephus McGirt as well on his rock-expanded kit throughout the song. The song finishes with a minute of all percussion (and some chanting) with Gerald's dancing electric bass. (13.25/15)

5. "Makishi" (2:36) bass, drums, and percussion (including clapping) provide a base for African call and response vocals. (4.375/5)

6. "Shango" (7:48) an African melody line is presented by Gerald's bass, within which Donald Coleman's congas and the two horn players weave their instruments. The musical weave smooths out so that the horn players can take turns soloing. The bass play takes the lead over the course of the song, really stepping into it in a jazzy Motown fashion, especially shining in the final two or three minutes. (13.5/15)

Total time: 37:15

The players are experienced and seasoned but the music of this first expedition is rather prosaic, more like simple jams based around traditional African rhythms and melodies from different regions and cultures of the continent. While Africa is trying to be celebrated here, it's really the electric bass, American brass, and variety of percussive instruments that should take the bows.

B/four stars; a very interesting if under-developed idea for musical project. I look forward to a little growth as I move forward from this band's debut.

Rhythm section plays important role as well, drums-percussion in combination with rich electric bass build great groovy background for soloing reeds. Compositions are all melodic and easy accessible, so all album sounds as great and pleasant listening without being cheesy.

Really interesting recordings for fans of early world fusion, unhappily very obscure .My rating is 3+.

Last album from the Blackburn-led Mombasa and yet another outstanding disc. Armed with a superb tree artwork, this album was released in 81 on the small Pläne label and has yet to see a Cd reissue. Blackburn for once kept the group almost the same line-up with only Charles Green replacing trumpetist Carmel Jones, but the songwriting is shared evenly between Blackburn, Green and Nicholas, which makes this album varied enough. If you're familiar with Mombasa's first two albums, you won't feel homesick when listening to Peace Maker, because their music stays pretty well faithful to itself, despite the change of decade and the musical digital upheavals

One will directly find the same superb ambiances than on their previous albums, with Peace Love & Harmony with its Afro-Latino rhythm over an excellent funky bass, the two brass instruments just wailing away carefully. Samahdi is a Far-Eastern tune, taken from Hindu-Buddhism realm. Blackburn sings in Everything Is Possible, which causes a bit of a surprise, but it goes down very well. However Spanish-Latino feel is a bit over-powering IMHO, it feels completely cliché and probably did back then as well. The title track is also sung and pleasant, but we're really waiting for the outstanding Snake Dance, the best track of the album and it would find a spot on their debut album.

On the flipside, we find the only cover of the album, called The Path. Out of the nowhere seeps out some African poetry to minimal percussions, lasting a while before a regular cymbal announces the trombone and African whistle and a great bass line, finally leading to a trumpet that sounds a little too Caribbean to my tastes and then fading out?. M-Zee is a smooth and gentle track and is content to remain discreet until Blackburn's trombone blares through your stereo aloud halfway through the album-longest track. Klike is a 7-mins smooth & gentle track that will slowly get more energetic, letting this album finish on a lovely but unfulfilled feeling.

Although a bit smoother and less energetic, Peace Maker is another superb album, making Mombasa almost perfect, with a handful of very strong albums. I suggest you start with the first two albums before moving on.

Second album from this African group based in Berlin, with a repeated title that gives right away the contents, if you've heard the debut album. And since you've heard that wonderful first oeuvre, there isn't a shadow of a doubt you love it to death and therefore there is absolutely no chance that you'll enjoy more of it and that's everything the second delivers. If Lou Blackburn, the brainchild of Mombasa, is still around, the line-up is vastly different, as he's the only remaining member left; Three new Americans (but all relocated in Europe for years) and another Jamaican (Blackburn ii also) make the new line-up. Maybe less grandiose, the sleeve artwork picture is a pretty good illustration of the music on the disc, but then again oth these first two albums are pretty much standard-exchange

Yenyeri is pretty much in the line of what the previous album had to offer: a Nucleus-type of jazz-rock over a Santana-esque rhythm with solid African influences ala Osibisa. I was very worried about Holz II, because I was afraid it would resemble the sore-thumb track of the debut, but such is not the case: even if there still some Far-Eastern ambiances, they are well-integrated with the other influences and the resulting tune is a welcome side-propos to the general soundscape of the album. Shango II is however much closer to its cousintrack on the debut album, and that's just fine with me., even if it might sound a tad more trad-jazz, despite its breakneck speed.

Nomoly opens the flipside with a bass riff that could remind Trane's A Love Supreme, but soon the track veers to Blackburn's superb trombone and an un-credited electric guitarist? Clocking just under 10 minutes, Nomoly is certainly Mombasa's best track, despite a slower improvised second half. African Hustle is a sung track that relies on a super-funky bass line and adequate trombone and trumpet bursting interventions. The closing Rahman is another funky jazz track that remains well within the sonic boundaries of the group.

Just as outstanding as its predecessor, minus the surprise, ARnB2 might even be a bit worthier because it doesn't have a "sore thumb" track that the debut had. Definitely interesting for jazz-rock fans and most progheads should not have a problem loving it as well.

The music is an amazing amalgam that hovers between Nucleus, Santana and Osibisa, but it also rocks/funks out quite wildly. The lead-off track Nairobi (Kenya's capital and first city) starts on a wild bass line before Blackburn's trombone and Jefferson's trumpet trade superb licks and solo over an outstanding rhythm. Massaï is an even longer track that resembles its predecessor, despite an insisting bass & drum ostinato, but slowly drifts towards African/Mid-Eastern ambiances. Holz is drastically different ogling more towards Far-Eastern music with the bamboo flute and the appropriate percussions: there is also a Japanese-sounding named being thanked in the credits. Actually this Coleman-penned track stands out a bit too much, and despite being fairly short (by the album standard), it tends to overstay its welcome.

Opening on the African chants of Kenia (the German spelling I guess), the flipside presents roughly the same sonic landscapes, venturing wildly into Santana-esque (Caravanserai) and Nucleus-like soundscape but keeping in mind the Osibisa (African) influence at hand. Indeed the short Makishi is filled with African chants (and the typical whistle), wild jungle rhythms and some grandiose brass lines to frame the whole thing up. The closing Shango (some African animism/voodoo deity, I believe) is again on the same canvas as the longer tracks, with Luciano's bass shining, like it has throughout the album, but this time overdubbed and used as a lead instrument.

Released on the small and long-gone Spigelei label, Mombassa's profile remained unfortunately low, but the the first two albums received a Cd reissue on the Sonorama label in the second half of the 00's. Definitely one of the better ethnic jazz-rock albums ever recorded, Mombasa's debut is simply astounding and would deserve the perfect five stars if it wasn't for that dreary "Far-Eastern" thingie that pollute the album's continuity.