Archie Shepp - The Magic of Ju-Ju (1976 Japanese Impulse! Gatefold LP)

Vinyl: VG+
Sleeve: VG+
Obi: None

Our grading system explained here.
Photo is of the actual item.

Archie Shepp - The Magic of Ju-Ju | Vinyl LP - 1976 Japanese ABC Impulse! Stereo Gatefold Reissue (YP-8526-AI, Nippon Columbia Co. Ltd.)

Bob Thiele recorded Archie Shepp at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, on April 26, 1967. Bob Simpson engineered. The ensemble for the title piece was assembled with percussion as its structural core — five players on drums, rhythm logs, talking drums and hand percussion, with Reggie Workman on bass providing the only sustained pitch beneath Shepp's tenor. Martin Banks on trumpet and Michael Zwerin on trombone sit out the first fifteen minutes.

Shepp's emotional and fiery tenor takes off immediately, gradually morphing with the five percussionists who perform on instruments including rhythm logs and talking drums. Shepp never loses the initial energy, moving forward like a man possessed as the drumming simultaneously builds into a fury. Upon the final three minutes, the trumpets of Martin Banks and Michael Zwerin make an abrupt brief appearance, apparently to ground the piece to a halt. Ed Blackwell, best known as Ornette Coleman's drummer, plays rhythm logs here, a different function from his usual kit role, his contribution embedded within the percussion collective rather than driving it.

Side B changes the terms. "You're What This Day Is All About" is a waltz, under two minutes, Zwerin's trombone given more space than he has on the title track. "Shazam" is the most explicitly bop-grounded piece on the record. "Sorry 'Bout That" runs ten minutes and is the second piece on the album where Shepp develops at length. The album title references both Vietnam-era G.I. slang and jùjú, the percussive music of the Yoruba people of Lagos, the African percussion and the political context were both deliberate. Ralph J. Gleason wrote the original liner notes.

This is the 1976 Japanese ABC Impulse! stereo gatefold reissue (YP-8526-AI), manufactured by Nippon Columbia Co. Ltd.