ALBUM REVIEW: Hugh Masekela - Home Is Where the Music Is

    If it wasn't apparent by the few reviews I've done, I love me some jazz. Free, modal, spiritual, fusion, avant-garde, I don't care what it is - give me the jazz! Even with all this in mind, I'm embarrassingly unfamiliar with material after around the '69 mark, and I'm still not entirely sure as to why; maybe it's because I'm just more occupied with other things in the music scene at that point; maybe it's because things just aren't the same after Coltrane died; point is, despite my love of jazz, I could always be sharper. The early 70s was rich with jazz fusion after all, especially when Miles Davis' Bitches Brew proved that it was the next way forward for jazz. In the midst of that, we got Hugh Masekela, a fugeler who seems to have a pretty kickin' jazz band himself on Home Is Where the Music Is, an explorative and often interesting look at the various different colors and clothing across jazz's wardrobe. From bustling numbers to flavorful afrobeat, Masekela's hulking double LP is one hell of a time.

     Split across two discs, one should certainly expect Home Is Where the Music Is to at least have some mixing up of the formula as it goes along, and luckily Masekela has that in droves. While most of it sticks true to the omnipresent trends of jazz fusion and more traditional jazz, most of the songs are painted in a lovely sort of musical landscape that creates a vivid image. The best example of this is "The Big Apple", a certainly entertaining piece that's brilliantly invocative of New York City imagery and the hectic life within. Other moments like the slick and low "Unhome" invoke that very nocturnal late-night feel that only jazz can seem to do so well, and it's moments like these that really showcase the magic of the genre to me - it's mysterious and uncertain, and yet somehow familiar. To me, it's the album's ability to paint these lovely vignettes of scenes and landscapes that is the epitome of what makes jazz so appealing in the first place, and while it's not the most explorative of what fusion has to offer, it's no snooze, either.

    One of the crucial elements of jazz is obviously the technical proficiency, and the ensemble of musicians that Masekela has assembled here isn't a disappointing one by any means. While every musician on here, including Masekela, is unbelievably sharp, the easy MVP is Larry Willis. It's his bombastic and lively piano playing that is the centerpiece of moments like the cool "Maseru" or the amazingly rich keyboard sounds on the opening track "Part of a Whole", which immediately gets things off to a great start on this album. Willis doesn't lose steam at all during this album, either, as by the penultimate "Maesha" he's still as sensible as ever with incredibly warm chords and fills. Masekela's sharp flugelhorn is similarly impressive throughout, and sometimes just as subtle on tracks like "Minawa". Reminds me of 50s Davis just a little bit, which is never a bad thing. Makaya Ntshoko's drumming and percussion throughout also gives plenty of added layers, including that tinge of afro-jazz that puts this above the rate of "just another jazz record". Even if the afro-fusion of "Ingoo Pow-Pow" feels a little messy to me, even I can't deny it's certainly fascinating to listen to - it helps that this is easily the avant-garde playing that the musicians do on this track.

    It's not a boundary breaker or necessarily cutting edge, but one can't deny that Hugh Masekela's double-LP is supremely satisfying. The sharp playing of all the musicians on this album, coupled with that ability to paint landscapes in music, is undoubtedly part of why I listen to jazz, and when Masekela can deliver that sensation at some point, it's hard to not be pleased. Home Is Where the Music Is may not be Davis or Coltrane, but any fan of jazz would be remiss to pass this one up, especially when it's as lively and varied as its 2 discs are.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Home Is Where the Music Is.