Strut continues their deep dive into the archives of Black Fire Records
with a new reissue of Oneness Of Juju’s Bush Brothers & Space
Rangers, showcasing the band at the peak of their powers in 1977.
Oneness had enjoyed two fruitful years with Black Fire prior to these
recordings, breaking through with the African Rhythms and Space Jungle Luv
albums. “When we recorded African Rhythms we didn’t use a guitar,” explains
bandleader Plunky Branch. “So, when vocalist Jackie Eka-Ete and guitarist Ras Mel
Glover came in in around ‘75, that moved our sound into a more soulful direction.
The drummer on this album, Tony Green, was the drummer with Gil Scott Heron and
he added a little more sophistication to our soulfulness. African percussionist
Okyerema Asante was also fully incorporated into the band after joining in 1976. By
1977, we were in full production mode recording songs; one or two of the tracks
here also feature Brian Jackson, known for his work with Gil.”
Primarily recorded at
Arrest Studios in Washington DC, the album is packed with landmark Oneness
tracks including ‘Be About The Future’ (“possibly the first ecology-themed song that I
know of”) the George Clinton-influenced ‘Plastic’, an acoustic alternative version of
‘African Rhythms’ and strong covers of Caiphus Semenya’s ‘West Wind’ and Bobby
Womack’s ‘Breezin’’. Plunky continues, “The album is composed of several different
sessions featuring different personnel and only first came out as an album in its own
right when Black Fire MD Jimmy Gray started working with P-Vine Records in Japan
during the ‘90s. For me, it’s one of the hottest periods for the band.”
FOR FANS OF:
Roy Ayers, Pharoah Sanders, Candido, Brass Construction, George Clinton, Sly
Stone, Minnie Riperton, Bobby Hutcherson, The Meters, Santana, Gil Scott Heron,
Kellee Patterson, Doug Carn
![Oneness Of Juju - Breezin [Black Fire]](media/video-thumbnail/134515-maxresdefault.jpg)
