
Among the bandleaders are Stan Getz, Tadd Dameron, Leo Parker, Fats Navarro, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, J.J. The sessions collected here-deftly annotated in a 32-page booklet by longtime Reader writer Neil Tesser-include early work from some of the most towering figures in jazz history, who’d become stars of the strength of subsequent sides for Blue Note, Roost, and Capitol. Savoy initially made its mark with R&B and gospel, but its bebop catalog arguably surpasses that material.

The many sides Parker made for Savoy in the coming years aren’t included in this ten-disc set because they’ve been widely reissued elsewhere, but there’s no shortage of stuff to dig into. While Blue Note famously released some of the earliest work from bebop pioneers Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, the other vital independent label chronicling the emerging revolution was Savoy Records, which thanks to the keen A&R instincts of Teddy Reig got on board in 1945 with a Dexter Gordon session. Shifting bebop released by tiny LA indie label Dial Records between 1945 and ’48, capturing the nascent days of the genre-including the first sides Charlie Parker cut as a leader. Many other Sanlé shots depict the bands in performance, conveying the irresistible energy that helped them assert their postcolonial dreams and desires in the face of corruption and crushing odds.Ī couple years ago Mosaic Records assembled a superlative nine-disc box set of the paradigm. Stylish youth pose with prized possessions-a motorcycle, a radio, a musical instrument-in street clothes or elaborate costumes, either in front of a screen or an illustrated backdrop depicting an urban scene or the wheeled stairway leading up to a jet. The dozens of beautifully reproduced black-and-white photos recall the look and aesthetic of work done around the same time in Mali by Malick Sidibé. The packaging makes up for this with a lovely array of album and single art and a large selection of photographs by Sory Sanlé, a cousin of Volta Jazz founder Idrissa Koné-both were key figures in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso, at the time the nation’s cultural center due to its location at the original terminus of the Abidjan-Niger Railway. The thick book that houses the CDs contains concise essays on the bands and some basic historical and cultural background, though nothing approaches the detail in the label’s previous multidisc sets-hardly surprising, considering the limitations imposed by geography, language barriers, and the lack of archival material in Burkina Faso. But Volta Jazz, Coulibaly Tidiani et L’Authentique Orchestre Dafra Star, and others built satisfying bodies of work, creating dynamic hybrids of Afro-Cuban music, funk, and native modes.


The landlocked West African nation declared its independence from France in 1960 and, like many other African countries at the time, struggled to find its footing financially, but locally produced music became an important source of cultural pride.Ĭompared with that of neighboring Ghana, Mali, and the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso’s output was modest, and none of the groups featured here could be considered innovators or influencers. The Numero Group travels far afield from its comfort zone in soul and rock with this rich three-CD set, which compiles music from the first 25 years of postcolonial Burkina Faso-known as the Republic of Upper Volta till 1984.
