Search - Bheki Mseleku :: Timelessness

"The resounding voice of a jazz giant"

Michael | England | 12/26/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Spirituality is a word seldom identified with today's jazz. Great albums such as "A Love supreme"(John Coltrane),"The shape of jazz to come"(Ornette Coleman) and "Straight no chaser"(Thelonius Monk) were conceived of spriritual spontaneity. In my view, this album ranks with everyone of these on equal terms.The personnel on this album speaks for itself. Bheki's music is charged with vigour, inspiration and candour. It took awhile for the boffins to acknowledge Monk as a jazz giant, this chap deserves nothing less than respect and much more, you've been told..."

Bheki Busts Out

Kenneth James Michael MacLean | Ann Arbor, MI USA | 12/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This first recording for Bheki Mseleku is a masterpiece, and his best. It is one of those recordings where you listen and are just captivated by its excellence. Bheki is self-taught and plays both piano and sax. He is a prodigy who burst on the London jazz scene unexpectedly some years ago. Nobody had ever heard of this guy, but when they did, musicians demanded to play with him.
The music on this CD is intensely played, with fire and conviction. It is deeply spiritual and joyful, but very melodic and firmly in the straight-ahead jazz tradition. All of the tunes and arrangements are Bheki's. I found every one of them to be excellent, and have found myself playing this recording over and over again through the years. Very definitely 5 stars."