Water From An Ancient Well

It is very nice. 3/5

This was a chill jazz album. Might listen to it again when in the mood for this sound.

Onvervalste Jazz; Het is niet zo mijn ding, maar dit album kan ik heel goed hebben. Als ik veel filmpjes over de natuur zou maken, zou dit perfecte achtergrondmuziek zijn. Dit alles in een taal die we allemaal spreken: instrumentaal. ***

Alright jazz, wasn't bad wasn't great. Maybe it was Water from an Ancient well but it wasn't spectacular. You know, maybe it actually tasted a bit like old water.

Ihan hyvää jatsia. En kuitenkaan osaa mun plebikorvilla sanoa että onks tässä muuta erityistä kun että se ei oo julkastu 50-luvulla. Mutta voisin kuunnella uudestaan.

This was a new one on me. Jazz is still mysterious to me, but I did quite enjoy this.

Nice, classic, jazz

Was pretty good. Not really my kind of thing, but did enjoy. A nice bit of smooth jazz for background while working.

Smooth jazz. It was so smooth but I'm not smooth enough to enjoy it.

This is not what I was expecting from title, artist name, or album cover! I guess that one's on me. I wish there was more back story available on the Wiki, as that's one of the best bits about an undiscovered album for me. I assume the original book that lists these albums has descriptions. I'm sure that there's some political motivation behind this album. Anywho... this was a nice jazz album, but jazz isn't really my thing so I can't comment too much. My top pick is 'Song for Sathima', where the tenor sax (I believe) really shines. Beautiful!

I think I need to plead jazz ignorance again on this one. I listened to it happily enough but nothing struck me that forcefully. More Google Music nonsense with the whole album available except for the title track. I listened to a couple live versions to make up the experience but seriously what is that.

Partijtje lekkere jazz met wat afrikaanse invloeden soms

Don't really know much jazz. But this was overall a nice listen, more background music for me than active listening. Liked "Mandela" and "The Wedding" the most.

Bit of fun ennit. Bit much in places but all good

Pretty enjoyable, even if the title track isn't on the Spotify version

-Generally nice jazz but just nothing exciting really happening. "Tuang Guru" had a little bit of groove to it but just overall plain.

I’ve listened to some of Ibrahim’s more piano-based stuff in the past and liked it. The septet works for me. It’s good to hear trombones and baritone sax for a change. Often, bands like to give every soloist a chance to play in every song but that makes for very long songs, so I'm glad he didn't take that approach. The opening track has a bit of a Nawlins’, marchy feel to it and didn’t really catch my interest until the solos kicked in. The overall mood changes enough (which is impressive since one guy penned all the tunes) throughout the LP. I read that the Mannenberg Revisited track was an anti-apartheid anthem. In my opinion it’s not one of the strongest tracks on the LP. Along with track #7, it is a bit jazz-poppy for me.

Surprisingly bland and background music. Might need repeat listening

Nice sound. The title track is missing from Spotify and Apple Music. It got a bit long at the end

6/10

first 30 sec of no1 song sound exactly like some polish song

Los albums de jazz me suenan igual

This was a pleasant surprise.

Too happy and “chill”

I found this to be a very accessible album. You don't need to be a Jazz aficionado to enjoy this. It's an easy listen.

Nogen af titlerne lyder som noget man selv kunne have givet sangene, i en hashkoger, ud fra hvordan de lyder. Men god stemning, dog lidt uklart hvor vi sal hen.

Tissemandsjazz. Godt og sådan. Havde forventet lidt mere spice.

jazzzzz, lækkert klaver, rimelig smooth, afslappende

3.1 - I saw the album cover and was totally expecting world music with some chanting (groan). Instead I got easy jazz. Now I'm not sure which I would've preferred. It's definitely sweet and soulful. It sounds like the Saturday Night Live band if they kept jamming on that final farewell song while the audience files out, leaving them to play to an empty studio.

So smooth. So soft. Sameeda has a killer solo.

Surprisingly enjoyed whilst working away in the office. Still can't see me sticking this on again like most other Jazz.

det här var ändå rätt så gött

Nice jazz!

Mandela doesn't sound like anyone is playing in the same time. the downbeats are all mixed up. Song For Sathima is alright! Water From An Ancient Well is the axis about which the entire album turns. the ultimate chill and jazz album. Sameeda is a weird closer. I like it but man it is weird in the context of the entire rest of the album.

I wouldn't have thought a song titled 'Mandela' would be so jaunty, given the situation in South Africa in 1985, when this was released. That aside, I enjoyed this album. Really accessible and listenable jazz. Nice to listen to in a bar or over dinner.

Super calm and super chill jazz album. Sounds like its straight out of the early 60s. Not much else to say tbh.

Relaxed jazz sounds Perfect to chill with 3.5/5

Jazz, en goede ook!

UNAVAILABLE. 3 EVEN RATING

I lack the knowledge and intelligence to articulate how I feel about different jazz albums. But I liked this

Jamais écouté avant. Un album de jazz dont je ne distingue pas bien, peut-être à cause de mon inculture dans le genre, la spécificité. Ce serait mentir de dire que l'écoute est désagréable, les musiciens sont incontestablement talentueux et ce genre de jazz tout en douceur a quelque chose d'intemporel (difficile à croire, d'ailleurs, que l'album date de 1986, tant il sonne comme s'il avait trente ans de plus...), mais n'a rien qui accroche l'attention, en tout cas mon attention, et a une fâcheuse tendance à se fondre dans le décor malgré tous mes efforts pour maintenir une écoute active. Il a même quelque chose de frustrant, tant je m'attendais à y entendre quelque chose de l'Afrique du Sud ou de la douleur de l'exil qui me semble complètement absent... L'autre mauvaise surprise, c'est à quel point le piano semble en retrait dans les arrangements, alors que c'est justement l'instrument d'Abdullah Ibrahim. Après la claque que j'avais prise avec Keith Jarrett, j'en attendais peut-être trop, et j'ai été franchement déçu... Top : Tuang Guru Flop : The Wedding

Not my kind of jazz

Eh, elevator music jazz

Found it on YouTube. Left it there..... 2/5.

A jazz album. Nothing particularly note worthy. Not offensive.

One of those albums that would only discover from this list. Apparently this might be jazz music influenced by apartheid era South Africa. Will be interesting to hear. This is slightly different sounding jazz right off the bat than I’m used to. It’s pretty good once you get into it. To me, this is just fine jazz. Nothing is jumping out at me. Feels a little simple at times. It’s missing a distinct quality to some it. Maybe it’s the heavy use of flute in some of the songs or a lack of a notable trumpet or stronger improvisation moments. Liked the sound on Tuang Guru. Then didn’t really like The Wedding, which is almost smooth jazzy vibes. I’ll probably go 2 or 3. Nothing special, nothing bad. Can’t say I would know much about the background of this from just a listen. Interesting enough though, you hear a lot of variety in the sound. I’m a 2.

This was a pretty standard jazz album. Decent, but there doesn't seem to be anything of significance here. Maybe because it is South African?

It's just jazz, but not the interesting kind. Pretty boring in my opinion. 3/10

Not at all what I thought it’d be from the cover and title. I wish it’d been something other than boring jazz!

Aufgenommen im Oktober 1985 im legendären Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, unter der technischen Leitung von Rudy Van Gelder, dokumentiert dieses Album den südafrikanischen Pianisten Abdullah Ibrahim auf dem Höhepunkt seines Schaffens mit seinem Septett Ekaya. Erschienen beim US-Label Black Hawk Records, produziert von seiner Frau Sathima Bea Benjamin, versammelt die Platte acht eigene Kompositionen, die Ibrahims charakteristische Verschmelzung von südafrikanischer Township-Musik mit amerikanischem Jazz in aller Reife zeigen. Was diese Aufnahme so besonders macht, ist die Balance zwischen kollektivem Bläsersatz und Ibrahims unverkennbarem Klavierspiel, das zwischen Duke Ellingtons harmonischem Reichtum und der rhythmischen Klarheit südafrikanischer Marabi-Musik pendelt. Stücke wie „Mandela" – eine musikalische Hommage an den damals noch inhaftierten ANC-Führer – oder das getragene „Song for Sathima" tragen eine politische wie persönliche Dringlichkeit in sich, ohne je plakativ zu wirken. Das elfminütige Titelstück „Water From An Ancient Well" entfaltet sich als meditative Reise, getragen von Carlos Wards Altsaxofon und Ricky Fords warmem Tenorton. Besonders bemerkenswert ist, wie organisch sich die vier Bläser – Ward, Ford, Charles Davis am Bariton und Dick Griffin an der Posaune – zu einem homogenen Klangkörper fügen, während David Williams und Ben Riley im Rhythmusfundament für ruhige, atmende Beweglichkeit sorgen. „The Wedding" mit seiner schlichten Melodik zeigt Ibrahims Gabe, aus wenigen Tönen tiefe emotionale Wirkung zu erzeugen – ein Kennzeichen, das sein gesamtes Werk durchzieht. Ein Album, das die Wärme und Weisheit eines Musikers einfängt, der Exil und Widerstand in zeitlose Klangbilder verwandelte.

Rather average.

This wouldn’t come up on Apple Music and I had to listen to it on Spotify, which was obnoxious and disjointed. This was fine. It didn’t really move me one way or the other. I liked the fist song, but other than that I wasn’t crazy about it.

The fucking face I made after reading all about apartheid and protest only for the song called Mandela to be like…a song that would play over a shopping montage. Water From an Ancient Well? More like water from the JCPenney bathroom. I guess it’s fine? But I. The way that Jazz is tough to critique unless it’s actively painful. I think other songs capture an emotion that makes more sense? Contextually? Maybe? I don’t know how to explain it but there’s something about the sound of this album that’s so 80s in a bad way. Some of these songs could be in a sitcom, eugh

Well-intended, well-composed, and well-performed. Still, this has got to be some of of the most middle-of-the-road, unthrilling Jazz I've heard in a long time. Skip it and listen to "Monk's Blues" by Thelonious Monk instead.

I have really tried to like Jazz but I just don’t get it. I think I like Jazz with vocals behind it and this hasn’t got that. In the jazz world this may well be top notch but to my ears it’s just not my bag.

Not something I would listen to normally. For me its more a live listening experience than on a stereo.

5/10

Jazz is still not my style ;(

I wanted more African influence and got considerably more jazz than I bargained for. “Mandela” sounds like the horn section settling a workplace dispute in real time, while the rest alternates between sleepy lounge music and the sort of jazz accompaniment cartoon animals would perform in a 1960s Looney Tunes nightclub scene.

I've listened jazz albums that were worse. I'd consider this a compliment.

What makes this collection of jazz compositions better than another collection of jazz compositions beats me.

it's ok maybe a little too chill Will I listen to again: 5%

Not great for me.

p530. 1986. 2 stars. Jazz. Don't like jazz. Well done of its kind, but... meh. Nothing here that wasn't done better in the 1930s-1940s.

I found this record completely unmoving and unoriginal.

It's background music for a move. Not really more I can add.

Not really for me

Unremarkable

This isn't bad, but I fail to see why I need to hear it before I die. I've heard plenty of other, far better jazz that better suits the list.

Pleasant listen while just chilling on a bed after feeling like I might have gotten heat exhaustion from a run. Annoying that the title track isn't on Spotify, but again its solid 2.5

I love jazz, but from all the great jazz records, why this album? Incredibly average, boring - totally could've died without hearing this.

"Is this good jazz? Is this bad jazz? All I feel qualified to say is that this is definitely jazz." en "In one ear and out the other."

Fairly run of the mill jazz; there are much better jazz albums missing from this list.

Meh. Another one of those that you wonder how it made the list.

The rehythm section sounds like backing tracks I'd practice over back in high school and some of the solos sound like my band mates back then, not in a good way. Truly bleh, and I actually like jazz

Nothing particularly spectacular about this. I could list hundreds of jazz albums that are more deserving of a place on the list. If there is a reason that I am not aware of as to why this album is included here then I’m happy to be enlightened, but upon listening, it was nothing special.

Boring

I like jazz, but there wasn’t much variety in this album, feel like most of the songs were too similar to one another

no me gusta el jazz

Not quite Jazz o my ears. MOR World music which drifts over you without effect. 2/5 5/5/26

Nice background jazz

A pleasant enough jazz record. Didn’t really get me excited.

Seems like pretty standard piano-forward jazz. I guess I was expecting something a little more interesting.

a little elevator-y for me

I’ve never really got into Abdullah Ibrahim’s jazz. I’m afraid “Water from an Ancient Well” isn’t going to change that. It’s all very well played, but overall Ibrahim’s playing (or that of his band) strikes me as too polished, too well-behaved, too clean. The solos, confined to strict blues patterns, are predictable. I’m missing that final spark. The last four tracks from “Tuang Guru” to "Sameeda" stand out a little. But, as I said, overall it’s too well-behaved for my taste. Not bad, but not my kind of jazz.

I didn't really need a jazz album today

I'm sure there's a story behind this that would make it a more interesting listen...but on the surface this is just safe, traditional jazz - brilliantly played, but unfortunately super boring.

I dislike jazz, don't care for instrumental music, and not a fan of horns or pianos, so talk about starting behind the 8 ball!

It's whatever. Poor mixing too.

Eh

The title track was the best one and the flute part the best. I think this is technically good so I feel bad rating it lower but I just didn’t really enjoy listening to it

Highlights: Mandela, Tuang Guru

Pretty and laid-back, this jazz album takes its time to unfold. Mostly driven by piano, its songs feel like twinkling sounds soundscapes. The highlight is the 11 minute title track, which feels like a journey. In particular I like the saxophone solo in the middle. When the saxophone gets going, like on that song and on "Song for Santhima," the songs feel like they're going somewhere. More often though this feels a little static and stuck in the same sounds. This is definitely a nice listen, but I don't find anything about it to be all that unique.

66/100 had a couple good songs some were quite lackluster tho

Pleasant enough, but not my thing.

I’m learning more and more through this album journey that jazz & jazz-ish album aren’t my favorite thing in the world. This album falls in that category, musically it isn’t bad. It’s actually somewhat easy to listen to but it isn’t for me. It felt like it dragged on and was more of a chore to listen to

eh, okay

This is not worth the time if you are a true jazz fan. The music is relaxing and ok but there is nothing earth shaking about the compilations. Definitely not something I needed to listen to before I die. Much more impressive jazz musicians should have made this list.

Not something I would choose to listen to but if it was playing in the background I would be ok with it

Paint by number jazz

Not for me

I like the name of this album and I usually really dig instrumental albums on this list but it all felt pretty forgettable. I'm really kinda bummed to write that. I gave it two listens and didn't keep a moment.

Sounds like Jazz... But, less than (maybe it's me? But I get the feeling it's not).

Nice background music, but that's all it is for me. Where's the drama x

I understand the historical significance of this record, but it mostlysounds like stock standard 50s jazz, 30 years too late.

2 sterne

As jazz goes not bad, good background music. Not my thing though

It sure is jazz. No doubt about that. I’m not the best judge of jazz, so take this with a grain of salt. This music did not move me and I didn’t find it to be particularly interesting or inventive. Sure, it’s smooth, but it’s not for me.

Not sure how this jazz record is any different from others on this list

Lovely background instrumental jazz, not my vibe

Jazz - ruhig und als Hintergrundmusik geeignet. Einen tieferen Sinn finde ich nicht darin. 2/5

I wouldn’t say I really liked this. This album consists of pretty generic jazz music that is really forgettable. It’s a shame that the title track isn’t on Spotify (I had to listen to it on YouTube afterwards), because that was easily my favourite.

netter pianosound für den hintergrund

Not my favorite tenor sound...and oh my that spittle buzz. That's very distracting. Not what I expected when clicking on a jazz record from 1986. Sounds more 1950s, in both vibe and recording quality. I've been obsessed of late with Paquito D'Rivera Live at Keystone Korner (1982). This is not that. I really can't get past the sustained, spittle-infused notes.

Brass is a funny thing. I love when it shows up unexpected in music. Like the saxophone on "Thunder Road" (as mentioned in my "Born to Run" review). A well placed trumpet or sax can just elevate a song, like a dash of cinnamon in a nice mulligatawny soup. You didnt know it'd be good until you tried it. That said, I don't want a mouthful of cinnamon. Too many people all playing brass at once sort of kills it for me. That said, I didn't hate this. It just mostly seemed like nice wallpaper. It's a bit of a relief, because after "Time Out" I'd just assumed I'd love all the jazz albums on this without understanding why. Well, I still don't understand why...this one, like "Time Out" would be good to put on while cooking that aforementioned mulligatawny. But I just didnt like this one so much.

4/10

Tedious.

The Mountain //

Dollar Brand luego Abdullah Ibrahim, sudafricano lo que quiere decir que tocó con la reina de la música Miriam Makeba. No solo, ha trabajado con Ellington, Coltrane, Sunny Murray, Ornette Coleman o Don Cherry. Mandela tiene un ritmo caribeño que suena a De camino a la vereda de Buena vista social club, pero unos años antes. El resto es jazz, con toques swing, latino etc. No sé, no me impresiona mucho.

It was fine. Good background music Standout song: Tuang Guru

jazz normal nada que decir

Listened in morning

nah.

50 nuances de trompettes relou

Yet another jazz album I don't care about. The issue with all of them is as soon as the album is over and Spotify continues playing another jazz song not from the album, I have no clue the song is not from the album I was listening to. It all sounds the same.

Nah

Kind of background music. No strong opinions either way.

Light, breezy, too easy to ignore.

Abdullah Ibrahim hat schon bessere Alben gemacht... Das ist ein seichter Schritt in den Mainstream

184/1089 was excited for this based on the cover and title, then i get hit by the (dated) jazzy trumpets… i can appreciate this as a cool jazz album and it did have some highlights, it just didn’t excite me. (that said, i wasn’t bored enough to keep track of how long i had left and actually only noticed once it had looped and replayed the first two tracks) i love the intent behind it and the idea of a mixture of jazz and african elements to express Abdullah’s feeling/experience of exile. However, i’m not knowledgeable enough with jazz to be able to pick these out tbh faves: The Mountain, Manenberg Revisited 48/100

Background music

I dunno what makes this stand out from any other jazz album. Its just jazz man

Straight forward Jazz ensemble. Not all that impressed with great skills in playing. Show me something creative.

- cool ambiance music, would listen to it while doing homeworks or reading mais pas trop mon vibe au quotidien

I'm not a big fan of jazz I guess. I felt bored.

Really not a fan of Jazz, especially Jazz piano. 2 stars or D.

Background music

Is dirty, germ-infested and full of bacteria.

Starting with a bad bar-jazz, it became more jazzy.

I saw the name of the album, and, having not known of Abdullah Ibrahim before this listen, made a strong assumption that this was going to be a lame jazz album. 8 songs and 44½ minutes later, I'll say I was right. Perhaps the final hundred or so seconds will disabuse me of that belief. Like a LOT of jazz, it is played competently, has some really interesting melodies and harmonies, and is absolutely unlistenable to the vast majority of people a vast majority of the time. I swear, this album gave me flashbacks to playing some of the lesser known songs I was forced to play in jazz band. You are asking the whole way through, who was this made for other than jazz enthusiasts and high school jazz band musicians who deserve a bad song or two to play as punishment? I couldn't find the answer to that question as a seventeen year old for my jazz band reject songs, and I can't find the answer for this. A 2/5 mainly because the playing and compositions are decent but there are far better jazz albums out there.

when this type of things come onto the list you will think that all british indie rock on here are completely nesseccery. i mean whats the difference of this and every other jazz album? we need something thats *refreshing*. gimme some good old a love supreme. 2/5

Beautiful stuff on here. But lingers on.

Nice, but not gripping enough for me to to play another round.

I'd rather listen to a house band play standards. This was horribly dull

Decent, not great

"None of our staff can take your call right now. Please hold. You are now 7th in the queue"

Not something I’d put on but would be good background noise at an nice bar

Some of the water tastes a bit stale. Otherwise innocuous album.

Good chill, but couldn’t listen for too long

Ok

Christmas jazz without the holiday spirit. I respect the skill and artistry, but was kind of bored.

While this isn't my wheelhouse for jazz, and I know very little about Cape Jazz in general, this was still pretty decent. I don't know how to rate this *really*: it doesn't do a ton for me personally, and I don't see myself really returning to this, but there is an undeniable level of musicianship, and some emotive melody writing. This isn't bad, not at all, it just also isn't that interesting to me. I even think some of the longer winded passages drag on a little (even if the solos dotting these passages are usually pretty good). But I did manage to get something more out of Song For Sathima, Tuang Guru, wedding, and Sameeda. Also, parts of the title track (and others, sporadically) are really good. But it is also worth noting that my favorite song here is the shortest (Wedding). This is a situation where I'm sure that a more experienced Cape Jazz fan would get more out of this than me. At risk of feeling a little mean, I'm giving this a (pretty high) 2: it's nothing personal, and I'm sure this is of some level of objective importance, I just didn't get a whole lot out of the experience.

I enjoy some jazz albums. This not one of them. ★★

I know part of it was the 80s sound quality, but felt like many of the instrumental solos just didn't take stage. The trumpet player sounded like they were losing control of the instrument, frankly. Their notes were increasingly uneven as solos went on and it took me out of the music several times. That, and their sound just died out instead of definitively ending. Were they only stopping when out of breath? Just felt like the pieces weren't coming together well and overall was kinda bored. I was getting really intrigued at the end when sounds suddenly got bold and clearer. Realized the album ended and Spotify was just auto-playing another Jazz record.

Jazz, but so smooth you barely feel anything.

Nice background music but that’s it

Итс окэй. Лучшая песня - Mandela.

This is nice jazz music, but it doesn't wow me in the way that some of the other jazz albums on this list have. Favorite track: "Manenberg Revisited"

Weird coincidence, the only two songs I saved from the album are the opening and closing tracks. The first one got my hopes too high that I might connect with the rest of the album, unfortunately I didn’t, but that last track was a nice reminder I do like jazz, but I might be picky. Because the heart of this album does nothing for me. And the goofy song at the end which reminded me of Ed, Edd, and Eddy was by far my favorite track on these tracks album. I guess when it comes to jazz I want something either sorta silly and full of life/joy or something really funky and wild. Also, on one last negative note, I think the album cover is totally boring and lifeless. If it wasn’t for the opening and closing tracks, I’d literally hate this album.

Couldn’t find this album anywhere to listen to. Was all grayed out on iTunes. Not on YouTube. So listened to his top songs on iTunes. It’s jazz. Not blown away.

It horrible but did not strike me as interesting at all

For Jazz music, this album seems a bit dated, and maybe a beat slow.

Good solid listenable Jazz. Nothing special or particularly African about it.

Wasn’t my thing understood the vibe and loved the core beat.

Het is niet de meest verschrikkelijke jazz, maar het is wel jazz. Ik heb vandaag niet echt de mentale ruimte om er heel goed voor te gaan zitten, dus het staat een beetje aan op de achtergrond en dan blijft er ontzettend weinig plakken. Het goede nieuws is vooral dat het ook niet irriteert. 'Niet te zenuwachtig' merkt iemand anders terecht op. Het is redelijk knap, zoals ik alle jazz wel knap vind, maar er is geen moment dat ik opleef. En dat is wel waar je een beetje op hoopt als je muziek aanzet. Ik heb meestal de neiging om jazz een beetje naar stijl te raten en dan zou dit een 3 krijgen. Zet ik dit tegenover muziek die ik wel graag luister dan is dit gewoon een 2. Dat is een beetje m'n twijfel nu.

*Shrug* 2

Muy del estilo "Yanni", no digerible para todo el mundo.

Mediocre jazz and big band type stuff

This album doesn't exist on apple music.

Took me a while to get into this one. Currently not on Apple Music. Not really my style.

Maybe I just don't like jazz.

Only listened to part of this. Didn’t particularly inspire

Nice little jazzy album

This one just sat there. Nothing bad about it, but nothing caught my attention, either.

Nothing very memorable on this one!

Yeah this was decent I guess (I know nothing about jazz and have already forgotten everything that happened)

surprisingly I somehow liked this.

Yet another jazz album. I cannot differentiate this album from any of the other jazz albums I've listened to on this list.

It’s nice but I couldn’t find it on Apple Music and had to use Spotify free which is like getting a drill stuck in your head.

I enjoyed the title track, but the rest didn't interest me.

Just a okaish Jazz album.

Kind of boring. To me it’s just background music.

Pleasant background music, I guess

Background music for Charlie brown cartoons.

Didn’t hate it but also didn’t love it. It passed the time and occasionally made my toes tap!

I did not enjoy this. Felt like Sesame Street music for adults, at any moment some numbers and letters might start dancing.

I really wanted more from this - with the album title as well as the artist being a prominent jazz pianist from South Africa, I thought we would get 1) more piano (seemed mostly buried by the horns) and 2) some sort of different musical flavor identifying this as being from somewhere discernible. It was just sort of middle of the road jazz, pleasing and proficient enough, but just didn't do much for me. Some pretty moments and I like the base line on Mannenberg a lot but other than that pretty forgettable.

boring.

Why is the Sims music an album I have to listen to before I die?

Opening track didn't work for me but the album is much better beyond this. There are a couple moments that got my attention but overall it wasn't for me but it might grow on me.

Not for me.

1. mandela - 2 2. zong - 2 3. manenburg - 1 4. guru - 2 5. uuedding - 1.5 6. mountain - 1 7. zameeda - 2

Nice jazz/ new age album. Never heard of Them , thanks for the introduction.

Oh, was expecting this to be some funky Bedouin tribal rhythms. Just some regular ol' jazz.

I may be totally missing this because it's hard for me to distinguish good from bad jazz, but this wasn't as good to me. I can't clarify or quantify it in any way, so I'll just leave it at that. It's giving 2

Best I can say is that the musicianship is competent and that the overall mood is "pleasant", but otherwise this jazz album is barely more than wallpaper music.

So you’re telling me that Abdullah Ibrahim has 58 fucking albums dating back to 1968 and I need to fucking hear this jazz album my Mother In Law would play at a lame ass dinner party with other 70yr olds. I imagine he made more interesting music than this and the Generator fucked him. This was dry as toast and not even worth a background listen. 2 stars

Fine for background jazz. Piano in track 2 moved me a bit but generally not my box of frogs.

Lot of "please stay on the line and a customer service representative will be with you shortly" energy.

Better (and very different) than what I expected by judging the book by the cover and not reading the jacket sleeve.

Pretty but a bit sad

This is a perfectly pleasant album, but not my favorite style of jazz. It's sleepy, and a little too "safe" for my liking.

The type of pleasant background jazz you'd hear playing quietly over the speakers at a Sunday Brunch in a fairly nice hotel

Jazz is really not my thing but I guess this sounded good 🤷🏼‍♂️

Its not that its bad, its a pleasant little record, but time and time again I feel like cool jazz just does nothing for me as far as the things I want out of my jazz Like, again, its pleasant but it never goes over something that makes me go "oh wow" in the playing which is a shame

This was crazy because I can’t really pinpoint what was bothering me to much. I like jazz. But this seemed so self indulgent to me lol idk I just felt like they were trying too hard to sound so cool. I wonder what happened to me yesterday that made me so mad about it.

Laidback jazzy loungemuziek. Veel deuntjes hadden ook in een 80s sitcom gepast als filler tussen de scenes. Sowieso zit er, met name door de toeters denk ik, best een 80s deken over de muziek. Ik ben te weinig bekend met jazz om te horen wat wel of niet goed in elkaar zit, of in ieder geval knap gemaakt. Ik ben al lang blij dat het niet te zenuwachtig is. Wat ik wel geinig vind, is dat je bij de naam Abdullah Ibrahim een compleet andere eerste indruk krijgt, dan bij Adolph Johannes Brand. En met de naam Dollar Brand had hij zo een hiphopalbum op kunnen nemen. Wat dat betreft ben ik blij dat het dan jazz is geworden. Ik vind het net te weinig enerverend om er een 3 voor te geven.

Jazz init

Some good playing but both the songs and the album as a whole are very uneven in terms of focus, quality, and production. I like Jazz but this isn't one I'll be revisiting.

honk shoe

Rating: 2 Nothing inherently bad if you like jazz. But as this is my rating, I'd rather listen to cats shagging. 2 it is.

I got a preview - Apple Music wanted $10.99 to listen to it all - and concluded it is not for me.

it was okay, some sounded pretty basic

Jazz, it's jazz.

very Groovy tunes, I am not a massive fan of music without singing tbh so not for me

More jazz - it's pleasant enough I guess. Kind of boring though

I typically like most genres of music but I bloody hate jazz.

2 - pretty dull tbh

Without the backstory of Ibrahim's exile, I don't that I would find much to say about this recording. Even with the backstory, it is hard for me (ignorant as I am) to locate Ibrahim's biography in this buoyant, gentle, gospel jazz. I'm sure that does the work a disservice, as it deserves a more considered descriptor than 'pleasant.' And, yet, its pleasantness is what strikes me, after the impressionistic, virtuosic, and cerebral jazz records we've already listened to. Pleasant may not be memorable, but it doesn't ruin an afternoon either. 2 There is something not quite right here. Whatever the cover art, the grandiose album title and the title of the opening track ‘Mandela’ evoke - it does not fit with what then proceeds musically. ‘Mandela’ should have been titled ‘Parkinson’ surely. The closer ‘Sameeda’ is redolent of something from the Jazz Club sketches on the Fast Show. The title track is extemporisation on Film 95 with Barry Norman. Whoever ‘Sathima’ is I am imagining an American lady with a perm and an oversized jumper (or is it a cardigan hanging round her shoulders?) who has been disappointed in love in the previous scene. Whoever ‘Tuang Guru’ is, he has a private dick tailing him. On the whole this was an enjoyable but I dare say forgettable album. I will give it credit for proving, conclusively, that try as they might, no one out-sillys a trombone. 2/5

Blahhhhh this was just kinda exactly what I expected. I don’t know I feel like sure it could be better could be worse but I just yes I can see it’s influence but personally it’s a no from me.

Peaceful, sure - but when in the FUCK would I return to or seek this shit out?? Homework background noise type shii

It sounds nice. But average. I read a review where someone said "Wedding" was so beautiful they used it at their own wedding. It's a nice song that would indeed sound pretty at a wedding. I am confident I could also find some Kenny G that sounds equally nice.

for sure musically impressive but just not for me

Fine. Half of it felt like an extended version of the sex and the city theme song. It was instantly forgotten

Started out bad and then improved

Wel geinig, niet zo boeiend. Klinkt soms een beetje als Efteling-jazz. Het is sowieso geen goed teken als het enige noemenswaardige feit over een album is dat het in deze lijst is opgenomen.

1.875

Old fashioned jazz . Ok for a short while then gets tedious

Very nice background music but nothing super noticeable

Bit jazzy annoying

Not bad, but there are other big band/jazz albums I’d rather hear rather than revisit this one.

This was pretty fine, but nothing special!

Pretty but not my style

#514. Jazz 2/5: jazz

Average Jazz.

2.5. Better than the other jazz album, but still not something I want to crank up

Sounds like a pixar movie. Also straining trumpets sounds like squeaky farts. So... Pleasant but jazz just ain't my thing.

Meh it was cool I guess. Jazz

i’m bad at distinguishing jazz but it was an easy listen just not a standout for me

For jazz, this wasn't too bad. Smooth and mellow, but it also kind of reminded me of 70's sitcom/drama theme music. Still, it's not something I'd ever voluntarily play.

That's some jazz.

It's pleasant but forgettable.

Standard score of 2 for "it's jazz. "

It's nice to have on - you hit play and kind of forget that it's on. Maybe you had to be involved in this scene at the time to really appreciate it, but 39 years later it doesn't feel particularly groundbreaking or interesting.

Some interesting stuff happening here. “Manenberg Revisited” has a really cool bass-driven polyrhythm that I loved. “The Wedding” is the most annoying sort of sax-driven smooth jazz.

El jazz es un estilo que a veces me cuesta apreciar. No es que este sea un mal álbum; reconozco la calidad técnica, pero me ha aburrido bastante. Empieza algo animado con "Mandela", un tema de estilo big band, y poco a poco se va volviendo más lento hasta llegar a lo casi soporífero. Además, tampoco creo que sea un álbum especialmente innovador, teniendo en cuenta que es de finales de los 80. En fin, me cuesta asignarle una nota. Lo voy a dejar en 2.5.

Pretty straight jazz. Was surprised this was an 80s record, as it sound like something that would have been decades earlier. I fail to see how it pushes the envelope or a particularly mark of excellence or influence. It’s competently played, has interesting moments and fine on the ears, but mostly forgettable.

Instrumental medio tribal pero grave, atmosférico. Bastante monótono y aburrido.

Hat mich nicht gepackt. Klang alles wie die Musik aus einem alten Tom und Jerry Film. Aber handwerklich nicht schlecht gemacht.

Good musically but jazz just not my thing

To start, I like jazz. I found this album to be very sloppy. The mix was jarring and unbalanced. I felt tense listening to this, and listening to jazz should be a relaxing and perhaps inspiring experience. The saxes sounded unconfident, which made the listening experience unpleasant. I feel bad for anyone that has this as a first jazz album, as it's not a good introduction to the genre.

Sounds like a colliery brass band doing covers of obscure TV themes and playground songs. That isn’t a good thing.

Part old school jazz……even heard some hints of Vince Guarldi. Good background music.

Schnödes Bigband, Piano und Jazz Arrangement. Es war nicht inspirierend und eher langweilig bis unangenehm.

Sigh. I want to like jazz more than I do. From my musician standpoint, there's a lot of really interesting stuff going on with all the instruments, especially the bass. I like the several different saxophones. But man, it's just so boring to listen to for an entire album.

That was jazz song music. Not for me but not completely horrid

There are a few jazz albums I like and then there’s stuff like this that all sounds the same

Listened Before? N Meh. I'm sure it's great. Not my cup of tea. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Mandenberg Revisited

Forgettable

Yep, it's jazz

not the vibe

This made me feel like I was in an elevator not on The Mountain.

Smooth jazz for a specific listening session. I was not in that session today. Another meh for me.

With a title like this I expected a much more spiritual jazz album but it's still pretty decent.

What next? Chuck Wagon’s Honkytonk Hoe Down turns out to be Death Metal?

<jazz_guy.gif>

Sounds too old-fashioned for me. From an ancient well, indeed.

This is some big band jazz, at least 50% held my interest

I hope the musicians had fun making this because I sure as hell didn’t enjoy listening to it

It sounds like all the other jazz albums.

An enjoyable easy listen. But in terms of jazz that was pretty boring. Giving this a 2 just on the jazz scale, but it is way better than every 2 I have rated.

There are so many amazing and interesting jazz albums in the world. This is not one of them.

Good listen, lots of interesting instrumentals and arrangements!

Jazzzzzzz.. Nothing special comes to mind.

Don’t know enough about jazz to say if this is any good or not. Not really my cup of tea.

Just A ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Pleasant enough background (lift) music ... but that's about it, for me.

Nice background music but a little boring.

okay

The soundtrack to a low budget daytime tv drama or hallmark film. Jazz, niiiiicccceeeee! 2.3

Not digging it very much

Not really going to leave an impression on me.

..

Jazz. No.

Jazz is really not my genre, and i cant say i really enjoyed this album. I can see how the musicality is appreciated- there were some parts where clarinet and piano had a nice back and forther. However, the time signatures and dischordant nature, while complex, just didnt do it for me. Overall- I can see how this woild be an influential album. But it really wasnt for me

Cocktail lounge jazz?

I knew nothing of this. I'm now keen to find out more. There's a light and breezy touch. It should be sold as one of those introduction to jazz albums. It dragged a little towards the end.

Ok

It was over before I realized

It’s so hard to rate these kinds of albums compared to a pop album or an album of bangers. I really liked the first song, but it mushed together afterwards.

Such background music, I’m not sure I even really heard it. So I’ll give it two stars because it obviously wasn’t hugely offensive.

Enjoyable jazz that is extremely thin and forgotten mere moments after listening. That isn't to say the album is bad, but the whole thing feels like it is meant to be the soundtrack to an old Disney Silly Symphony. Y'know, the things that Disney used to sync their animations with? The music is okay enough, but it just feels like jazz music purely meant to elicit relaxed vibes, and nothing more. A soundtrack to an Olive Garden, perhaps? Or something more spicy, like the Old Spaghetti Factory? Either way, the music is sound, it's fine, but would you catch me listening to it in my free time? Hell no. The instrumentation is fine, the variation is fine, the improvisation is fine, it is all FINE. But there has to be better jazz coming out of the mid-80s, yes?

Perfectly pleasant, but not really my thing. 2*

Eh, an average Jazz album, totally fine for some background music, but nothing to write home about in my opinion. Not too sure why it's included in this list. Best: Mandela Worst: Sameeda Note: Spotify didn't have the rights to the title track so I listened on YT Music.

not available on streaming service in US. was able to find title track & listen to it. nice enough background dinner music

Pretty dull, incredibly light, elevator music jazz. It was pleasant enough to have on in the background and I even searched out the title track as Spotify didn't include it.

I wasn´t expecting an album this traditional when I saw that it was an african jazz album from 86. It´s just... jazz. It could have been recorded in 1946 by the it sounds. It´s not a bad album. It´s just very conventional.

An album to have listened to before you die? Nah, that's in-ear out-ear Jazz despite the political statement that I am told it was. Nothing bad to it, but nothing musically overly interesting either.

Background music from the Peanuts

funky. Boring.

Enjoyable album, but nothing really stands out.