As-Shams/The Sun Records

THEMBA - Themba

A nugget of rare South African groove originally issued alongside Bra Sello on the Soweto label in Johannesburg in 1976. A self-titled offering and the group's only album, Themba delivers the quintessential blend of sophisticated jazz improvisation over hip-swinging township pop that gives South African jazz from the 1970s its timeless appeal.

Themba features a skilled ensemble led by Baba “Themba” Mokoena, who appeared on Dick Khoza's landmark Chapita album in 1975 and has gone on to earn a reputation (over the course of a career that spans into the 2020s) as one of the legendary guitarists of his generation. Reissued for the very first time on the cusp of its 50th anniversary, Cinedelic's 2025 edition of Themba is sourced from the original master tapes under license from As-Shams Archive.

Recorded at Satbel Recording Studios

Produced by Greg Siphi Ngcobo

Engineered by Paul Dobbe

Originally issued on the Soweto label

Cat. No. SWA 14017

Themba Mokoena photographed in Green Point, Cape Town in November 2021

(Photo Credit: Calum MacNaughton)

BLACK DISCO - Black Disco & Black Disco 3

With a Yamaha organ and a dream, Pops Mohamed started his musical journey in mid-1970s South Africa as the founder of Black Disco, creating a hip and innovative blend of chill-out jazz with spiritual overtones. Playing original compositions as well as reimagined soul and pop hits, the group appeared on producer Rashid Vally's As-Shams/The Sun label alongside Abdullah Ibrahim and Harari.

On the band's self-titled debut from 1975, Mohamed's cosmic organ is supported by two of the most sought-after session players on the South African jazz scene, Cape Town's sax and flute wizard Basil Coetzee, who had risen to fame in 1974 as one of the soloists on the hit “Mannenberg,” and Sipho Gumede, the young bass prodigy from the city of Durban. The album is a mostly downtempo affair with the drum machine on Mohamed’s organ laying down the beat while the trio soars in blissful improvisational territory.

Bassist Peter Odendaal and drummer Monty Weber join Mohamed and Coetzee for Black Disco 3 in 1976, preserving the New Age lounge aesthetic but allowing the group to flex their jazz chops more adventurously. “Spiritual Feeling” from the debut album is revamped as “Spiritual Feeling Riding the Blue” but the album opener “Dawn” is the centrepiece – a trippy, flute-driven awakening that unfolds over a period of ten minutes.

BLACK DISCO (1975)

Organ - Pops Mohamed

Flute / Tenor Sax - Basil Coetzee

Bass - Sipho Gumede

BLACK DISCO 3 (1976)

Organ / Guitar - Pops Mohamed

Flute / Tenor Sax - Basil Coetzee

Bass - Peter Odendaal

Drums / Bongos - Monty Weber

TETE MBAMBISA - African Day

As-Shams Archive Vol. 4: Tete Mbambisa - African Day

Awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Cape Town in 2023, pianist Tete Mbambisa (82) is a legendary figure in South African jazz. Supported by the cream of the local scene, his albums from the 1970s are among the most cherished vinyl documents from this golden era. A monumental archival undertaking, African Day compiles unreleased recordings from 1976 to resurrect a "lost" Tete Mbambisa double album that falls between his seminal works Tete's Big Sound (1975) and Did You Tell Your Mother (1979).

Born in 1942 and raised in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, Tete Mbambisa’s childhood home served as an informal tavern where social gatherings orbited around the family's carefully curated music collection with live performances by a local pianist. Growing up in this environment, his musical roots are embedded in marabi, the syncopated piano sound that blended cues from American jazz, blues and ragtime with the cultural sensibilities that shape modern South African jazz.

A self-taught musician, it was as leader of the vocal group The Four Yanks in the early 1960s that Tete Mbambisa’s music career began in earnest. With encouragement from Abdullah Ibrahim, he dedicated himself to the piano and went on to record with The Soul Jazzmen in 1969. Mbambisa's two solo recordings from the 1970s were produced by Rashid Vally for the independent As-Shams/The Sun record label. With an abundance of strong material but limited resources, some of the label's prospective releases were not issued at the time of recording. Featuring the intended artwork commissioned for the project in 1976, African Day marks the first major unveiling of unreleased gems from the As-Shams master tape archive.

A. African Day 17:41

B1. Khumbula Jane 3:25

B2. Siviwe 5:13

B3. Kohinoor 5:12

B4. Mr. Mecca 4:58

C1. Siyanda 6:44

C2. Umsenge 7.55

D1. Relaxin' 8:49

D2. Untitled (For Duke Makasi) 6:22

Piano – TETE MBAMBISA

Bass – SIPHO GUMEDE

Drums – GILBERT MATTHEWS

Tenor Sax – DUKE MAKASI

Tenor Sax / Flute – BASIL COETZEE (A, B)

Alto Sax – BARNEY RACHABANE (A, B)

Trumpet – DENNIS MPALE

A, B

Recorded 27 February 1976 at Satbel Studios

Johannesburg, South Africa

Recording Engineer: Peter Thwaites

C, D

Unannotated session recorded in 1976.

Composed by TETE MBAMBISA

(except "Khumbula Jane" by Mackay Davashe)

Produced by RASHID VALLY

Cover Artwork by ZULU BIDI

(sourced courtesy Chris Albertyn)

ON PHYSICAL EDITIONS

Back Cover Photo by IAN BRUCE HUNTLEY

(under license from african.pictures)

Gatefold Photo by PERS ENGLUND

(used with permission)

Tape Transfers by Rob Allingham

Audio Mastering by Noah Mintz

Design & Layout by Rouleaux van der Merwe

Compiled & Produced by Calum MacNaughton

(with direction from Tete Mbambisa & Rashid Vally)

Cat. No. ASA104

DIGITAL ALBUM

AS-SHAMS ARCHIVE VOL. 1

As-Shams Archive Vol. 1: South African Jazz, Funk & Soul 1975-1982

As-Shams Archive Vol. 1 introduces the core catalogue of As-Shams/The Sun, the independent record label that documented some of the most exciting developments in jazz, funk and soul from South Africa in the 1970s. With 10 tracks from 10 iconic albums featuring 10 different artists and 10 original compositions, this compilation delivers 85 minutes of South African music history.

Including essential tracks by the likes of Dick Khoza, Black Disco and Harari, remastered from the original analog tapes, As-Shams Archive Vol. 1 is an unbeatable introduction to South African rare groove for new listeners as well as a long-awaited first anthology for the label’s many devoted followers.

DIGITAL ALBUM

1. KIPPIE MOKETSI – “Umgababa” (K. Moketsi)

From the album Tshona! (1975)

Alto Sax - Kippie Moketsi, Tenor Sax – Basil Coetzee, Piano – Pat Matshikiza, Bass – Alec Khaoli, Drums – Sipho Mabuse.

2. PAT MATSHIKIZA – “Dreams are Wonderful” (P. Matshikiza)

From the album Sikiza Matshikiza (1976)

Piano – Pat Matshikiza, Alto Sax – Kippie Moketsi, Tenor Sax – Duku Makasi, Trumpet – George Tyefumani, Guitar – Sandile Shange, Bass – Sipho Gumede, Drums – Gilbert Matthews.

3. TETE MBAMBISA – “Umthsakazi (The Bride)” (T. Mbambisa)

From the album Tete’s Big Sound (1976)

Piano – Tete Mbambisa, Alto Sax – Barney Rachabane, Tenor Sax – Duku Makasi/Aubrey Simani, Baritone Sax – Freeman Lambatha, Trumpet – Tex Nduluka, Guitar – Enoch Mthalane, Bass – Sipho Gumede, Drums – Dick Khoza.

4. DICK KHOZA – “Lilongwe” (D. Khoza)

From the album Chapita (1975)

Drums – Dick Khoza/Negro Mathunjwa, Tenor & Soprano Sax – Ezra Ngcukana, Tenor Sax – Aubrey Simani/Khaya Mahlangu, Alto Sax - Teaspoon Noel, Trumpet – Themba Mehlomakulu, Trombone – Willie Nettie, Electric Piano – Mac Mathunjwa, Lead Guitar – Themba Mokoena, Rhythm Guitar – Joe Zikhali, Bass Guitar – Bethuel Maphumulo.

5. MIKE MAKHALEMELE – “Spring is Here” (M. Makhalemele)

From the album Blue Mike (1982)

Tenor Sax – Mike Makhalemele, Organ – Jabu Nkosi, Bass – Zulu Bidi, Drums – Nelson Magwaza.

6. BLACK DISCO – “Night Express” (B. Coetzee)

From the album Night Express (1976)

Organ – Pops Mohamed, Flute & Tenor Sax – Basil Coetzee, Bass – Sipho Gumede, Drums – Peter Morake.

7. LIONEL PILLAY – “Blues for Yusef” (L. Pillay)

From the album Deeper in Black (1980)

Piano – Lionel Pillay, Alto Sax – Barney Rachabane, Tenor & Soprano Sax – Duku Makasi, Bass – Sipho Gumede, Drums – Gilbert Matthews.

8. HARARI – “Musikana” (S. Ntuli, A. Khaoli, S. Mabuse)

From the album Rufaro (1976)

Vocals – Selby Ntuli/Alec Khaoli/Sipho Mabuse, Alto Sax – Barney Rachabane, Trumpet – Stompie Manana, Lead Guitar – Themba Mokoena, Keyboard – Selby Ntuli, Bass – Alec Khaoli, Drums – Sipho Mabuse.

9. MOVEMENT IN THE CITY – “Blue Sunday” (P. Mohamed)

From the album Movement in the City (1979)

Piano – Pops Mohamed, Tenor Sax – Basil Coetzee, Bass – Peter Odendaal, Drums – Monty Weber.

10. SATHIMA BEA BENJAMIN – “Music” (B. Benjamin)

From the album African Songbird (1976)

Vocals – Sathima Bea Benjamin, Flute – Basil Coetzee, Bass - Louis Spears/Basil Moses/Lionel Beukes, Drums - Doug Sides/Monty Weber.

Cover Photograph by RALPH NDAWO

Gatefold Artwork (Vinyl Edition) by HARGREAVES NTUKWANA

Audio Mastering by Noah Mintz

Design Layout by Rouleaux van der Merwe

Compiled & Produced by Calum MacNaughton

Executive Producer: Rashid Vally

Cat. No. ASA101

℗ 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982 As-Shams/The Sun

As-Shams Archive is home to the catalogues of As-Shams/The Sun, its predecessor Soultown Records and the reissue imprint MANDLA. The archive holds original master tapes, unreleased recordings, photographs, artwork and ephemera documenting the story of South African jazz in the 1970s.

SPIRITS REJOICE - Spirits Rejoice!

The 1970s is regarded as a period of experimentation, boundary-breaking and hybridization in modern music and this spirit certainly informed the mushrooming of ideas that occurred in South African jazz during this time. In the shadow of more commercial township jive and soul, South African jazz evolved on the fringe, nurtured by passionate and enterprising independent producers who courted the interest of the mainstream with enchanting concoctions of jazz with folk, rock, soul and funk.

With a lineup hailing from far-flung regions of South Africa, the mercurial sound of Spirits Rejoice and its willingness to weave a patchwork of different influences into its recordings is not hard to account for. More difficult to reconcile is that the band didn’t manage to level up to the status enjoyed by its peers in larger music markets abroad. Nevertheless, Spirits Rejoice has maintained its revered status in the collective memory of South African jazz for over four decades and their recorded artifacts return in the 2020s with the group’s vitality and energy undiminished.

Tenor Sax – Duke Makasi

Alto Sax/Flute/Vocals – Robbie Jansen

Trumpet – George Tyefumani/Thabo Mashishi

Piano – Mervyn Africa

Guitar – Paul Petersen

Bass – Sipho Gumede

Drums – Gilbert Matthews

Backing Vocals – Joy

Originally issued on Jo'Burg Records

Cat. No. TJC 13029

SKYJACK - Light Cycle

Skyjack is what happens when a heavyweight South African jazz trio meets a pair of Swiss reed and brass hotshots. Over the course of a decade, this all-star quintet has forged a reputation as an innovative and adventurous force in contemporary African and European jazz. Combining deep grooves with thrilling rides and avant-garde experimentation, Skyjack is a powerhouse both on stage and in the studio.

Light Cycle is the band's third recorded outing and documents a seasoned outfit at its most ambitious and accomplished. Featuring compositions from all members of the group, the album is a multidimensional creature with a big heart and a powerful imagination. Part science fiction adventure, part sentimental journey, Light Cycle reconciles expansive cosmic soundscapes with a solid grounding in memory and folklore.

Issued as a double-LP on the As-Shams/The Sun label, Skyjack joins both a catalogue and tradition of groundbreaking South African jazz dating back to the 1970s. The album's cover features the work of esteemed Cape Town artist Igshaan Adams.

Saxophone – MARC STUCKI

Trombone, Kudu Horn – ANDREAS TSCHOPP

Piano – KYLE SHEPHERD

Double Bass – SHANE COOPER

Drums – JONNO SWEETMAN

01. All the Flame (S. Cooper) 7:27

02. Like a Leaf on a Tree (M. Stucki) 5:44

03. Light Cycle / Vang Gou Die Strandloper (K. Shepherd) 8:41

04. Hey Stranger (J. Sweetman) 2:20

05. Future Past (A. Tschopp) 11:20

06. Method of Moments (M. Stucki, J. Sweetman, A. Tschopp) 5:28

07. Morge Früeh Eh D'Sunne Lacht (Trad. A. Glutz, Arr. M. Stucki) 11:40

08. Porcupine (J. Sweetman) 6:04

09. Kudu Chant (S. Cooper, A. Tschopp) 2:19

10. Zaubergarten (for Oscar) (M. Stucki) 2:59

11. Radha Intro (K. Shepherd) 1:49

12. Radha III (K. Shepherd) 6:58

13. The Storm That Guides You (S. Cooper) 4:08

* Track sequence differs on 2LP vinyl edition

Produced by SKYJACK in 2023

skyjackmusic.com

Recorded by Jürgen von Wechmar at Sunset Recording Studios - Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Additional Recordings by Shane Cooper at Kujua Records Studio - Johannesburg, South Africa.

Mixed and Mastered by Martin Ruch at Control Room Berlin - Germany.

Cover Artwork by Igshaan Adams

Design and Layout by Romy Brauteseth

Produced for As-Shams by Calum MacNaughton

Cat. No. SRK897249

DIGITAL ALBUM

THE HAL SINGER JAZZ QUARTET IN SOUTH AFRICA - Soweto to Harlem

When the U.S. State Department announced in the mid-1970s that they were sponsoring a South African tour for the Oklahoma-born, Paris-based saxophonist Hal Singer, producer Rashid Vally took note. Even though his nascent record label As-Shams/The Sun (established in 1974) was making waves on the local scene, the idea of commissioning a recording from an international artist was a ballsy idea. With a discography that stretched back to the 1950s, Hal Singer was already somewhat of a legacy artist by 1976. Vally was well-versed on Singer’s accomplishments and specifically enamoured by his composition “Blue Stompin’,” which appeared on a Prestige album from 1959 that had struck a chord in South Africa.

With his irresistible charm, Vally managed to coax Singer into a studio in Johannesburg to record a new version of “Blue Stompin’” with South African sax star Kippie Moeketsi, which became the title track of a 1977 album by Moeketsi. The recording session also yielded an album’s worth of new material by Hal Singer and his quartet that took its name from a track inspired by Singer’s trip to South Africa entitled “Soweto to Harlem.” Released in 1976 and only available in South Africa, Soweto to Harlem captures a laid-back, cheeky and nostalgic rhythm and blues set from the Hal Singer Quartet that is unlikely to have emerged for a different target market.

Cinedelic’s 2023 edition of this impossibly rare album is sourced from the original tape masters and presents it on vinyl internationally for the very first time. The reissue follows Singer’s passing at the age of 100 in August 2020 as we contemplate and celebrate his extraordinary contribution to jazz in the United States and beyond.

Hal Singer – Tenor Sax

Alain Jean-Marie – Piano

August "Gus" Nemeth – Bass

Oliver Johnson – Drums

Produced by Rashid Vally

Photographs by Ronnie Kweyi

Originally issued in South Africa by As-Shams/The Sun

BLACK DISCO - Discovery 1975-1976

As-Shams Archive Vol. 3: Black Disco - Discovery 1975-1976

With a Yamaha organ and a dream, Pops Mohamed started his musical journey in the mid-1970s as the bandleader and composer of Black Disco, creating a hip melange of chill-out jazz with futuristic drum machine sounds and spiritual overtones. His cosmic organ transmissions were accompanied by two of the most sought-after session players on the South African scene, the sax and flute wizard Basil Coetzee, who had risen to fame in 1974 as one of the soloists on the hit “Mannenberg,” and Sipho Gumede, the young bass prodigy who was already rubbing shoulders with the old guard at the outset of his career. Backed at first with polyphonic beats from Mohamed’s electric organ and later taking on a drummer, Black Disco created a signature sound and a trilogy of innovative albums in a burst of studio creativity between 1975 and 1976.

Distilling the group’s recorded output into a single commemorative document, Discovery 1975-1976 compiles cuts from the lauded Night Express album alongside rare gems from the group’s long-out-of-print first and third albums. The newly remastered selection features previously unissued single versions of the mighty “Night Express” itself, a funk juggernaut with piercing flute whistles and rapturous sax cries as well as “Dawn” from the album Black Disco 3, a trippy, flute-driven awakening of soft light and gentle colours.

EXPANDED NOTES

1. Spiritual Feeling (Riding the Blue) 6:44

2. Pops Blue 3:06

3. Night Express (Single Version) 5:20

4. Kids in the Dark 5:00

5. Dawn (Single Version) 4:42

6. I'm Organized 6:42

7. Yasmeen's Blues 4:51

8. Dark Clouds Part 1 3:19

Tracks 2, 6, 8 from the album BLACK DISCO (1975)

Tracks 3, 7 from the album NIGHT EXPRESS (1976)

Tracks 1, 4, 5 from the album BLACK DISCO 3 (1976)

ORGAN AND DRUM MACHINE – Pops Mohamed

TENOR SAX AND FLUTE – Basil Coetzee

BASS – Sipho Gumede / Peter Odendaal (1, 4, 5)

DRUMS – Peter Morake (3, 7) / Monty Weber (1, 4, 5)

Recorded by Peter Ceronio at Gallo Studios

Produced by Rashid Vally

Audio Mastering by Noah Mintz

Design and Layout by Ash Pederick

Compiled and Produced by Calum MacNaughton

Cat. No. ASA103

DIGITAL ALBUM

The MANKUNKU-MAKHALEMELE Trilogy

Three As-Shams Archive albums from the mid-70s that trace the interweaving discographies of saxophonists Winston Mankunku Ngozi and Mike Makhalemele. Backed by The Cliffs, Alex Express was Mankunku's long-awaited 1975 sophomore album that followed the lauded Yakhal' Inkomo with the Mankunku Quartet from 1969. Also appearing in 1975, The Peacemaker was Makhalemele's debut – a landmark release announcing the arrival of a new saxophone colossus. The Bull and the Lion from 1976 saw these two figureheads joining forces for one of the epic collaborations of South African jazz in the 1970s. Restored, remastered and reissued in partnership with We Are Busy Bodies.

MIKE MAKHALEMELE & WINSTON MANKUNKU NGOZI - The Bull and the Lion

Bringing together Johannesburg’s two saxophone titans for a supergroup recording project was a visionary move by Jo’Burg Records in 1976. Following the success of Makhalemele’s debut The Peacemaker and Mankunku’s long-awaited sophomore release Alex Express, which both appeared in 1975, the bar had been set very high. Enamoured by their jazz contemporaries, the session was concocted by members of an exciting new South African rock group called Rabbit, who formed a backing group consisting of guitarist Trevor Rabin, bassist Ronnie Robot and drummer Neil Cloud alongside jazz pianist Tete Mbambisa. Recorded at the state-of-the-art Satbel Music Recording Studios, the inspired performances of this diverse cast of young South African artists at the height of their powers was captured with exquisite fidelity. Packaged as The Bull and the Lion, the album title references Mankunku’s signature composition “Yakhal’ Inkomo” (which means “the bellow of the bull”) and Makhalemele’s stage name “Ratau” (meaning "lion"). The pairing of Mankunku and Makhalemele stands with Moeketsi/Matshikisa and Pillay/Coetzee as one of the epic collaborations of South African jazz in the 1970s.

Ronnie Robot – Bass

Neil Cloud – Drums

Trevor Rabin – Guitar

Tete Mbambisa – Piano

Mankunku & Makhalemele – Voices

A Jo'Burg Records Production

Recorded at Satbel Music Recording Studios

Recording Engineer: Paul Dobbe

Photography by Rent-a-Studio

Originally issued in South Africa by Jo'Burg Records