Our Boys Are Doing It

Description

In the mid-1970s, trumpeter Dennis Mpale was an accomplished musician with an auspicious résumé that placed him at every key turning point in the evolution of modern South African jazz. In his mid-twenties, he led the trumpet section of Chris McGregor's Castle Lager Big Band and played on the ensemble's landmark 1963 album, Jazz/The African Sound. In 1968, he recorded I Remember Nick with The Soul Giants, joining a wave of notable late-1960s releases, including the Mankunku Quartet's Yakhal' Inkomo and the Chris Schilder Quintet's Spring, which ignited the ambitions of South African jazz artists and producers in the 1970s. In 1975, Mpale co-founded the "jazz rock" ensemble Roots, ushering in the era of jazz fusion in South Africa and opening the door for Pacific Express and Spirits Rejoice.