What's Good On The Enja Label?

Skip Drinkwater

I haven't heard too much of their releases, but what I've heard didn't really blow my mind. There are a couple I remember liking such as Dollar Brand's "African Space Program", and a Mal Waldron record I don't remember the title to, but I'd like to know if there's anything else worth checking out on the label. Recommendations plaese?

Kinetic

Not much in my experience. Everything I've ever heard on the label has been aweful noodley jazz fusion.

But some of the covers look so promising.

roisto

Not much in my experience. Everything I've ever heard on the label has been aweful noodley jazz fusion.

But some of the covers look so promising.

Weird. There's not much "jazz fusion" (noodley or not) in the Enja catalogue.

holmes

Is there a Gene Ammons LP in there that is ok, or am I thinking of some other label?

roisto

Gene Ammons? Not on Enja, I think. There's a decent "spiritual jazz" LP by Hannibal Marvin Peterson, though.

faux_rillz

There's a decent "spiritual jazz" LP by Hannibal Marvin Peterson, though.

I think you're referring to Angels of Atlanta, a 1980 Europe-only release dedicated to the victims of the Atlanta youth murders. I really like it, although that may be in part because I have a particualr interest in the subject.

There are also probably close to half a dozen nice Dollar Brand titles on the label.



Also, I must say that I find the exclamation remarks in the DGA review particularly unseemly in this case:

One of the most ambitious works ever by Marvin Hannibal Peterson -- a larger work dedicated to the 20 African-American children murdered by a serial killer in Atlanta, performed here with a mix of choral voices and jazz instrumentation! The piece follows strongly in a legacy of that format started by Max Roach and continued by Billy Harper -- and Peterson works here with players that include George Adams on tenor, Kenny Barron on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Dierde Murray on cello -- plus the voices of The Harlem Boys Choir, and lead vocals by Pat Peterson. The whole thing's wonderful -- soaring and spiritual without sounding hokey at all -- and titles include "The Angels Of Atlanta", "The Story Teller", "The Inner Voice", "Mothers Land", and "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child".

Fatback

I like the Peter Warren record with John Surman. I think it's called 'bass is'.

and a Masahiko Sato trio jawn where he uses ring modulator.

there are Mingus and Dolphy reissues, but that's a duh.

holmes

Made me walk upstairs to look, nice enough straight ahead live session from the early 70s with Horace Parlan, Red Mitchell & Ed Jones. It's the only one I have on that label though I think.

roisto

Never heard of that Gene Ammons LP before.

I also wasn't aware of the story behind Angels Of Atlanta. I always thought that the music was a bit too serious some way, but now I can understand it a lot better.

faux_rillz

I also wasn't aware of the story behind Angels Of Atlanta. I always thought that the music was a bit too serious some way, but now I can understand it a lot better.

Yeah. Also, DGA doesn't get it quite right--although there may only have been 20 murders at the time that Pearson recorded the record, there were ultimately about three dozen.

Swayze

I personally really like Cecil McBee "Music From The Source", good LP, if like "Mutima" you would like this I think.

BreakSelf

I like the Peter Warren record with John Surman. I think it's called 'bass is'.

It's been a couple years since I last listened to it, but big cosign on this. Very enjoyable record.

mrmatthew

I like a few of those Rabih Abou Khalil albums.
You might too, if Oud is your thing...