The PILLAY-COETZEE Trilogy

Three As-Shams albums from the late-70s that trace the interweaving discographies of pianist Lionel Pillay and tenor saxophonist Basil Coetzee. The connection between these three titles is tight as the 1987 release Shrimp Boats compiled unreleased recordings from both the 1979 session for Plum and Cherry and the 1980 session for Deeper in Black. Shrimp Boats and Plum and Cherry capture the extraordinary musical chemistry that existed between Pillay and Coetzee during this era. Deeper in Black is Pillay's nod to American trumpeter Blue Mitchell, who toured and recorded in South Africa in 1976. Restored, remastered and reissued in partnership with We Are Busy Bodies.

LIONEL PILLAY feat. BASIL COETZEE - Shrimp Boats

Assembling unreleased recordings from 1979 and 1980, Shrimp Boats is a South African jazz archival compilation from 1987 built around its epic side-long title track featuring saxophonist Basil "Mannenberg" Coetzee. The recording was made during pianist Lionel Pillay's November 1979 session with Coetzee for the As-Shams/The Sun album Plum and Cherry. Side Two is composed of material recorded in September 1980 from the session for Lionel Pillay's Deeper in Black album. The 1951 pop standard "Shrimp Boats" was first given its unlikely jazz arrangement by Abdullah Ibrahim (recording as Dollar Brand) in 1971. Pillay and Coetzee take this seed of an arrangement to its furthest reaches with their mesmerising performance here. Although the title track casts a big shadow, Pillay's "Slow Blues for Orial" is a welcome original composition on the flip side that stands proudly next to a rare 1970s cover of Winston "Mankunku" Ngozi's "Yakhal 'Inkomo" (Pillay was the pianist on Mankunku's original 1968 recording) featuring saxophonists Barney Rachabane and Duke Makasi. The set closes with a nod to the contemporaneous jazz fusion scene with a take on Weather Report's "Birdland" from 1977.

Personnel on A1:

Lionel Pillay - Piano

Basil Coetzee - Tenor Sax

Stompie Manana - Trumpet

Charles Johnstone - Bass

Rod Clark - Drums

• Recorded 12 November 1979

Personnel on B1, B2, B3*:

Lionel Pillay - Piano

Barney Rachabane - Alto Sax

Duku Makasi - Tenor Sax

Sipho Gumede - Bass

Gilbert Mathews - Drums

• Recorded 29 September 1980

* Based on first-hand testimony provided to jazz journalist Gwen Ansell, Robbie Jansen plays alto sax on "Birdland" in place of Barney Rachabane. The uncredited guitarist on the track is possibly Russel Herman or Jethro Butow.

* Update: Robbie Jansen confirmed on alto sax on "Birdland" (taken from an unreleased session by Lionel Pillay dated 9 October 1981).

Produced and Compiled by Rashid Vally

Original Released in 1987 on the MANDLA imprint

Cat. No. MANDLA 001

℗ 1979 ℗ 1980 © 2022 As-Shams/The Sun