Teaspoon and The Waves - Teaspoon and The Waves (2021 Mr Bongo Reissue Vinyl LP)

Teaspoon and The Waves - Teaspoon and The Waves | Vinyl LP - 2021 Mr Bongo Reissue (MRBLP225)

• Five tracks of South African jazz-funk from 1977, produced by West Nkosi on Soul Jazz Pop (a Mavuthela Music Company / Gallo subsidiary); all compositions by saxophonist Teaspoon Ndelu, recorded in Johannesburg
• "Oh Yeh Soweto" adapts Lamont Dozier's "Going Back to My Roots" four years before the Odyssey version made the song internationally famous, and has become a staple of DJ sets from Gilles Peterson to Floating Points
• Teaspoon Ndelu went on to play saxophone on Paul Simon's "Gumboots" from Graceland (1986); he also collaborated with Stimela and Sipho Gumede and wrote for other South African artists throughout a long career
• Official replica reissue, licensed from Gallo, mastered at Finyl Tweek and pressed at Optimal Media GmbH; released by Mr Bongo on 26 February 2021

Teaspoon Ndelu was a South African saxophonist and studio veteran who recorded under various configurations — Teaspoon and His 'T' Boys, Teaspoon and The Waves — and collaborated extensively with fellow saxophonist and producer West Nkosi, including on the "Mabone" singles of the early 1970s. This self-titled album was recorded in 1977 for Soul Jazz Pop, a subsidiary of Mavuthela Music Company under the Gallo umbrella, engineered by Nino Rivera and produced by West Nkosi. All five tracks are Ndelu originals.

The album is built around jazz-funk grooves with a palette that pulls in Afro-synths, reggae-inflected guitar and disco rhythm, all of it anchored by Ndelu's saxophone. "Oh Yeh Soweto" adapts the harmonic and melodic framework of Lamont Dozier's "Going Back to My Roots" — a song Dozier had recorded with Richie Havens in 1971 but which most listeners outside South Africa would not encounter until the Odyssey hit version of 1981. Ndelu got there first. The track circulated through DJ culture for years and is now a legitimate dancefloor classic. The remaining four tracks are not filler. "Friday Night" opens with a reggae-tinged tropical groove; "Wind and Fire" runs on spacey synths and loose, rhythmic guitar; "Saturday Express" is a straight-up disco stomper; "Got Me Tight" closes the record with a playful, funk-led workout. Ndelu later brought his saxophone to Paul Simon's Graceland sessions, appearing on "Gumboots" (1986). This Mr Bongo reissue, licensed from Gallo, is pressed at Optimal Media GmbH with replica original artwork.