1. Ginger Spice
2. Twelve and More Blues
3. Cyril Davis
4. Footprints
5. Ain Remouchant
6. St Thomas
7. Aiko Biaye
8. Why?
Ginger Baker – Drums
Pee Wee Ellis – Sax
Alec Dankworth – Bass
Abass Dodoo – Percussion
Kudzai Baker, Lisa Baker – Vocals (track 8)
If you can survive seeing the album’s front cover, which seems designed to frighten off listeners, this is an interesting CD. Ginger Baker is more famous
as a rock drummer - particularly with the supergroup Cream – than a jazz drummer, although jazz has always been in his bloodstream. In this band he is
joined by musicians who also straddle different genres. Bassist Alec Dankworth is well-known in jazz circles but he is extremely versatile and has toured
with South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim as well as Ginger Baker’s Jazz Confusion. Alec adds splendid bass solos to Twelve and More Blues and St Thomas. Pee Wee Ellis is best known for his work with James Brown, although he also played with Van Morrison and has appeared with artists from
Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Mali. The African influence is clear with Ginger Baker, because he spent some time studying African drum rhythms, and his
group includes percussionist Abass Dodoo from Ghana.
The African connection is evident in Baker’s use of the tom-toms rather than the usual jazz drummer’s emphasis on the snare drum. And whereas many jazz
drummers depend a lot on rolls and paradiddles, Ginger concentrates on single strokes. This means that several of the tracks on this CD don’t swing in jazz
style but are more forceful, like rock. Twelve and More Blues is an exception, as it reminds me of the late lamented trio Back Door, with animated
saxophone and drums swinging unremittingly. And Footprints is a familiar jazz standard, which the band interprets with the right amount of
feeling.
Elsewhere, Baker plays several duets with drummer Abass Dodoo, conjuring up the sounds of Arica. The rhythms are not as complex as one might expect from
two percussionists with experience of African drumming, although the percussion on Aiko Biaye is more convincingly elaborate. The stereo is very
effective in this track. The album ends with the title-track, which quotes the tune Wade in the Water and uses a couple of the Baker clan to cry
“Why?” repeatedly, maybe pondering the deaths of so many of Ginger’s musician friends, or questioning why his own life has been so troubled. There is irony
here, as Baker was once voted “the musician least likely to survive the sixties” – and he is still with us.
Ginger Baker may not be the most salubrious or approachable musician but this album shows that he is still creative, especially with help from his
colleagues. And although the music is often heavy, the recording mixes the different instruments so that they are all audible.
Tony Augarde
www.augardebooks.co.uk
CD Reviews
Motema 233846
