Reviews (page 5 of 13)
Great, groovy and fun record!
Just a bit too jazy for me.
super long songs which i don't usually mind but listening to this straight i kinda zoned out. maesha is my favorite. so beautiful.
Home Is Where The Music Is - Hugh Masekela This one hits different. It’s long, for sure (I’m not complaining, like, I enjoyed music within 6 or more minutes). But it has some tunes to it. Great percussion and horns, the instrumentation is definitely something. You gotta get some time and vibes for the whole thing. For me, it’s good! Period.
great drums, some cool moments but I don't feel it that much apart from that
This was a really exceptional album; it had a great mix of swing and funk jazz. The rhythms felt constantly changing and the duets between saxophone and horn were beautiful. Great jazz record from an artist I've never heard of but will definitely explore more. Standout Tracks: Minawa, Maseru, Inner Crisis, Maesha.
Det var musik
It’s a fine jazz album but not essential. It doesn’t sound unique enough to make a list of 1001 albums you must hear in my opinion.
Wow man. An exceptional jazz album, top to bottom. Can't believe I don't hear this name spoken more often when discussing the genre. Maybe it's not the most complex playing out there, but boy is it wonderful to listen to.
Nice easy grooving sounds. Trumpet and keyboard especially good. Great music for working out on the treadmill. A strong 3 from me…
So beautiful and so groovy. 200ish albums in, I think this is my favourite discovery so far. It partly sounds like a very well played bebop record with some excellent phrasing and playing in general. But then every form they are playing has some of that sweet afrobeat magic. Every musician on here has at least a couple of songs where they absolutely kill it. Then half of the record is also so dancable and swings in such a unique way. Just awesome, I love it
YESSIR!! I guess I was unfamiliar with this portion of the right honorable gentleman’s game. I AM aware, & indeed quite fond, of what this man will be throwing down a few years in the future. But this was a lovely surprise & no longer will I overlook the straight ahead jazz propers of his arsenal.
Whoa, this is amazing. Favorite track was Maseru
For how little I normally like the jazz albums on here, this one was pretty nice. It had some good grooves and the musicians sounded really good together. Despite not having vocals until the very end, it still was interesting enough to keep my attention most of the time. It probably helped that I listened to it on a long drive, so I didn't have much else to distract my ears. That said, I think the longer runtime was one of the biggest negatives. If I hadn't been able to spend 76 minutes to listen uninterrupted, I doubt I would've been able to keep it in my attention. Even having that chance, it still felt like it was a bit too long. I think this was pretty good, especially considering my typical dislike of jazzier works. Not sure I'll listen to it again, but I enjoyed hearing it this time. Overall: 3.2/5
Sonically diverse with lots of nice melodies and soloing on this fine collection. It's long and, for me, mostly served as stellar background music. One of the most interesting songs was the last one, "Ingoo Pow Pow (Children's Song)," which featured some native American vocals and rhythms. Seemed more diverse than many jazz albums
Its the kind of jazz I always get behind. Vibrant, atmospheric, always shifting enough to stay interesting, with some great worldbeat rhythms. Maseru in particular is an awesome song. Mr Masekela knew his way around the horn, and i had to look up who played piano/keyboard on here - shout out Larry Willis, some of the best jazz keys ive heard. Would love to add this one to the vinyl collection
They really should use the original album cover on this website; it'll be hilarious seeing people get jumpscared by the freaky faces. A lot of the jazz records I see get praise from critics and music nerds tend to skew towards songs with fast tempos and/or complex improvisations. Compared to those albums, /Home Is Where the Music Is/ comes off as a breath of fresh air. This is a much more relaxed album where the ensemble chooses to vibe with each other and create a collection of mellow African-infused jazz songs. The tracks on this record are incredibly uplifting and life-affirming (this fact becomes much more poignant when you learn about Hugh Masekela's life up until this point), and this mood allows the album to be enjoyed by anyone regardless of their jazz experience. The fact that this is a double album, which would intimidate anyone including myself, doesn't really register when listening to this in full; everything on this project just flies by. I know a lot of folks on this website don't enjoy this as much as I do, and that's okay. I'll just be here having a grand old time with this album. Standout Tracks: Part of a Whole, The Big Apple, Maseru, Blues for Huey, Maesha, Ingoo Pow-Pow (Children's Song) Score: S
Groovy jazz funk, great vibe. Good mix of funk, bop, and afrocuban rhythm.
Jazz, we meet again! I’ve had Time Out and Bitches Brew, but this is my favorite so far. Time Out is fairly tepid (to me) and Bitches Brew is almost completely incoherent - this is just excellent musicianship combined with fantastic arranging. I’m still not huge on jazz and I have essentially zero knowledge of Afrobeat or “the scene” around this album, but on a purely listening basis I definitely enjoyed this one.
Yess
Je sais que je dis souvent qu’il manque d’albums jazz dans la liste, mais c’est pas une raison pour mettre des albums doubles! Comme là, un ptit 40 minutes de ça j’aurais été bien, mais 1h30 j’en pouvais plus
Shoutout Earl (Thebe) Sweatshirt for kind of getting me to know who this guy was before I got this album. Hugh is sampled on the track “Riot” from Earl’s fantastic record “Some Rap Songs”. With that being said, this was cool. It’s a long record and quite much to get through, but what I hear stand outs. The piano work is strongest for me on this record, especially on tracks where it sets the scene (Minawa, Inner Crisis). Blues For Huey ends with some sort of free form drum solo that goes under the composition. The closer has the record’s only lyrics with it being chants. And the back half acts as the strong-suit where the music becomes more of a feeling than a sound. I don’t think this needed to be as long as it is, but what I got out of it was something positive. Thanks, Thebe (8/10, 4/5 on this scale)
Good stuff
Absolute jazz. I love this! I was completely unfamiliar with Masekela but I love his style. The man is a mega talent. I can listen to this over and over. Gonna seek out his other records.
Fun jazz
What an album. 4 stars only because the length is still a detriment to it. Under an hour it would've been perfection. The tracks are great, the playing is tasteful, soulful and all-around incredible. The african teibal elements were incorporated perfectly too. Great album! 4/5
Good instrumental album. Interesting and low key at the same time. Great background music.
good during work
Nice! *points at camera* I’ve listened to this a couple of times and still don’t feel I’ve listened to it enough to review it yet. Because Jazz is complex instrumental music and this is a double album I think it will need more attention for me to “get it”. So far, I can tell there’s a mix of fairly funky grooves, laid back pieces and freak out jazzery… and that it’s good! Will return to.
Loved this!
My first time listening to an album just full of instruments. A great new experience! The music was so catchy and relaxing at the same time.
I highly dislike jazz, this recommendation helped me only with making sure I do. For that reason I can't comment on quality.
Terrific album. Had the stank face going pretty quick and pretty often. The album starts off very strong, and keeps it up throughout. A long album, don't get me wrong, but each song felt different. They were each unique, with different progressions and sounds and solos, with distinct intros and crescendos and all of that fun stuff. Never heard of this album or of Hugh Masekela, and came away VERY impressed.
3 out of 5 Smooth jazz. Not a genre I normally listen to, but I enjoyed this album. Very chill and relaxing.
Jazz is cool and all, but I got really bored about halfway through.
Lots of trumpets.
Part of a whole takes a while to get going, but once it loosened up a bit i quite enjoyed it. Minawa feels far too straight for my liking and is therefore quite dull The jazz drum is the star of the big apple. Maseru offers a real freak out performance which finally offers some life, even of it ventures into “recorded in front of a live studio audience territory”. Inexplicably it goes into a dull piano break before the bass appears and speeds things along. Inner crisis hits like a good old police drama theme. Ingoo pow pow adds some vocals of sorts, but does nothing to raise the enjoyment levels. Overall just a fairly dull album
Whilst I continue to dislike jazz, this at least was somewhat more bearable than most of the other jazz stuff that has been forced on me.
I am going to have listened to more jazz during this project than I have during the entirety of the rest of my life. I'm genuinely starting to wonder what proportion of this list is jazz, because it's beginning to feel like I'm never more than 4 days away from more jazz. And, at best, I'm indifferent to it. The piano section in the first track is horrible, which is a shame as I wasn't hating the rest. I was somewhat surprised by the noise that I assume was a saxophone, but sounded like a swanee whistle. When your song is nearly 10 minutes long, you do not need a fade out ending. After that I zoned out a bit, though I did quite like (at least bits of) Nomali. I still don't really find jazz that engaging though, so we're back to some more low scores: 2/5
*kid reaching out his hand with a butterfly flying right above it meme* — Is this … “jazz”?
great stuff, good players. a lot of these licks have become cliches now, but that's not this record's fault.
A little too meandering for me overall but definitely a nice listen.
Solid album with great playing, high 4, just don't love how it ends
African jazz brought to America. If you love jazz, this is a must hear
great jazz album
The albums length worked against it IMO -- Part of A Whole and Minawa were such a strong start but the middle dipped for me.
1001 Albums Generator 180 (12/12/2025) Home Is Where The Music is is the first jazz album I've had on this list that I hadn't ever heard of. The first two songs had me very excited, in spite of the massive size of this album. Part Of A Whole is a fusion jam that features really good solo work and also a really rhythmically interesting head melody. Minawa is very different and is a slow building, piano-led cool jazz piece. By the time you get to the end of it, it's just unbelievable. There are other good moments on Home Is Where The Music Is, but nothing hits the same as the first two tracks. The other more fusion-y stuff like Inner Crisis is pretty good, and I really like songs like Maseru and Ingoo Pow-Pow that have such a strong energy. But there's a lot of fluff here. Unhome and Blues For Huey are really 12 unnecessary minutes on a 76 minute double LP. And I'm no prude when it comes to song lengths, but I really don't think that every single song needed to be over 5 minutes. Like a couple of them could've been 4 minute jams right? With all that said, I would argue that I like more of this album than I dislike, but I walked away a bit frustrated by the perceived lack of pruning that the tracklist received. 3/5. Favs: Part Of A Whole Minawa Inner Crisis Least Fav: Unhome
Great jazz music all around. Hugh Masekela did not disappoint, it got a bit sleepy at times but jazz be like that sometimes. Still, it was a pleasure either way. 3.50/5
I dig it. 3.9/5
Not got a lot to say other than I love jazz, I like this album and it's beautiful. Even if I'd never heard of it before.
60/1001 First listen. Five seconds in and I’m giving this a 3/10 (tolerable). In fact I’m writing this review now. If anything changes in the next hour and fifteen minutes I’ll update my rating. I have an open mind but jazz? 3/10
absolute banger
Sick album
Not my style. An uncultured lout like myself found it to be a complete and utter bore.
Tooooo long, but a pleasant sound nonetheless 4/10 Favourite track: N/A
Bester Jazz seit langem
Ganz geil, aber kann man nicht immer hören
Fand ich sehr entspannt um gedanklich wegzugleiten
Part of a Whole 4.2 Minawa 3.8 The Big Apple 4 Unhomé 3.4 Maseru 3.8 Inner Crisis 4.1 Blues for Huey 4 Nomali 4.1 Maesha 4.3 Ingoo Pow-Pow (Children's Song) 3.3 Score: 3.9
Beautiful chill jazz. Really well produced. Not really something I'd actively listen to, but great background music. Inner Crisis aside - that's a banger. Faves: Part Of A Whole, Inner Crisis, Ingoo Pow-Pow (Children's Song)
Smooth jazz
It just never ends
👎🏻
jazz
Really good 3.5
I’m giving into three cause it’s probably decent jazz, but I’m not listening to this whole album. Just not a jazz guy.
Some incredible and fast, intricate trumpet riffs. Like the slower pace later on in the album. Some of the songs get a bit long and quite repetitive though. 6/10
Just not a big fan of jazz. Or not fitting with my current mood.
Solid jazz
Good Jazz record.
Great Jazz, very chill
I mean I am not a huge jazz fan and I DEFINITELY did not like all of the songs on this album, but I think if you want something that is good for like a Christmas party or get together with friends and you want something in the background for good noise, this would provide it
Fine jazz
buenas canciones, pero exceso de longitud con partes bastante monotonas, aunque un buen jazz siempre entra bien En minawua hay un par de partes de la cancion donde me chirria mucho, like ese efecto que hace que la saxo grazne me han matado. ademas de los sonidos asi mas africanos a ratos, ha sido gracioso He disociado totalmente porque estaba estudiando, pero agradable mientras estudiaba, las primeras canciones guays, el resto ñeg, me ha ido decepcionando la verdad
My initial impression of "Home Is Where The Music Is" was promising, especially the opening track 'Part of a Whole' that starts with some lovely piano work. However, this appeal quickly faded. By the three-minute mark, the track felt aimless and overextended. This trend continued with subsequent tracks, like 'Minawa', where the shift from piano to trumpet failed to capture my interest. At 76 minutes, the album's lack of brevity made the listening experience attritional rather than engaging; a feeling of indulgence that soon became tiresome, reinforcing my suspicion that Jazz is not my genre. Apologies to the Jazz aficionados but for me this was a disappointing two-star experience. 1 "Part of a Whole" (2/5) 2 "Minawa" (2/5) 3 "The Big Apple" (2/5) 4 "Unhomé" (1/5) 5 "Maseru" (2/5) 6 "Inner Crisis" (2/5) 7 "Blues for Huey" (1/5) 8 "Nomali" (2/5) 9 "Maesha" (2/5) 10 "Ingoo Pow-Pow" (Children's Song) (1/5) Total - 17 Average - 1.7 174/1001 95/174 albums reviewed were new to me.
I have tried many times, but I cannot do jazz. I appreciate the talent on display, but I did not enjoy this album.
I just… really don’t like Jazz apparently
Not bad.
Great sounding jazz. Not really my thing but I liked it.
3.5 stars I’ve been iffy on jazz and double albums so far. And a jazz double album really sounded like something I would be cold on. But this got me. It rocked. It wasn’t bland or boring. It was vibrant and exciting. I loved it. It was still too long, but will probably grow for me with more listens. Saved.
Music for playing quietly in the background. In a coffee shop or cocktail bar. Maybe an elevator. Not a bad album if you like that sort of thing. Not something I'd actively have chosen for myself and I doubt I'll listen again, unless im in a very spoecific mood. I did not enjoy. Found myself actually hoping that it would end by the time the last track started. One more song!!!! too bad it was over 6 minutes long. but surprisingky the last track is the most interesting of all.
Good quality music but not for me
Not my style, very mild instrumental. Good for background music.
Im never sure what to do with these types of albums. On one hand it has so many beautiful passages dotted all of the whole thing but I also dont feel strongly enough about anything here to give it a like and listen to it outside of the album context. Dont get me wrong its a very good record. Even great and I could put the whole thing on. Just not a single song. And thats usually what im looking for is songs. I will for sure listen to this again just not sure when that time will come again
As someone who really enjoys jazz, but lacks knowledge of the genre, I truly enjoyed this album from beginning to end.
Cool jazz! My favourite was Inner Crisis
Talented jazzy
This reminded me I want to listen to more jazz. And that I NEED to listen to more jazz.. I think my brain has become too weak and soft to fully appreciate an hour and 16 minutes of it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless
Posh Christmas party music (tis the season)
Good bunch of jams. The highlight is definitely the expressive and exciting flugelhorn playing. I think this is the first jazz album to pop up in the list, which reminds me that I do in fact like jazz and should listen to more.
This album is a huge warm, and spiritual burst of jazz. The wind instruments harmonizing through the whole album immediately caught my attention, and the solo in that opener song is incredible what an intro. The main instrument you hear is a flugelhorn actually, played by Masekela, it has a very bold and expressive tone that it feels like it’s speaking directly to you. The general vibe of the album is very warm, soft jazz. I can actually feel waves of calm washing over me while listening. It’s known for being very influential for its time, it shifted direction and did something new and important by fusing South African rhythms with American spiritual music, soul, and funk, creating a unique jazz-fusion sound. However, overall it’s a bit too long for my liking as a full front to back instrumental jazz listen. If I’m in the right mood, it feels immersive, slow, groove-heavy, emotional, and alive, but because it’s so calm and spacious, it also sometimes drifts into “background music” territor, perfect for relaxing, having dinner, or reading. My favourite songs are Part of a Whole, Minawa, The Big Apple, Maseru, Blues for Huey, and Maesha.
Enjoyable all the way through.
Really great. The piano intro on “Inner Crisis” was beautiful.
Säkert bra
Animado e lindo. A trombeta de Masekela dança lindamente. Um espírito livre, livre como um pássaro. É bem lindo vê-lo voar. Mas não é só a trombeta que impressiona, tudo aqui é bem finamente tocado. Pianos lindíssimos, percussão requintada, e afins. Antes de ouvir o disco eu me atentei à sua duração. Fiquei preocupado. Mas até que ele passou batido, não me causou fadiga nenhuma. Uma surpresa, certamente. Tudo aqui é magistralmente executado, mas falta um pouco de excitação. Você têm aquela sensação de que já ouviu isso antes. É um disco seguro. Se você ama Jazz vai amar o que ele oferece, mas não vai se excitar tanto. Foi um ótimo acompanhante enquanto eu fazia minhas entregas no Euro Truck Simulator 2. 4/5
That was a great listen,
Mjög ánægjuleg hlustun. Elska þetta rafmangspíanó og hljóðheiminn allan.
This is the perfect album to listen after a hard day's work. Perhaps on the way back home, while slowly watching the lights of the houses fade away. One slowly cradles oneself in one's home.
There's a lot more jazz on this list than I expected. It's really cementing my dislike for the genre.
Couldn't find the write up on this one. Must have been in an early version of 1,001. Pretty neutral on it. I did find myself checking, "is this over yet?" many times hence the lower rating.
What a legend! Rest In Peace
Lovely trumpet and Piano Jazz, long songs that feel session-like
V. Smooth
Good jazz
5.6/10
- Strongly appreciate his activism. - I’m not into jazz, but this album's pretty inoffensive and palatable as far as jazz goes because there is a fairly strong melodic core to the songs, but I don’t think I’ll ever reach for it. - I’m not into the tone of the trumpet/flugelhorn… it isn’t as smooth as I like - it can feel muddy (not precise enough) and rough/scratchy. I also find that it’s so much more forward than anything else, so it ruins the songs for me. - The piano tone is nice, though. - Why does every song have to be so long? - Nomali is pretty.
Pretty groovy African jazz; I liked it.
Jazz is great
I’m not really a jazz person but this felt less chaotic than most. I really enjoyed it.
Afrikansk jazz, aldri hørt (om) før. Ikke verst!
Lots of great stuff here and some great variety. Some of it's a bit sleepy for my taste, but otherwise I really dig it.
peak background music
Love finding new to me jazz
Jazz. Decent
jazz
Very nice
Apparently I don’t like jazz.
76 minutes of jazz. I'd have worn a nicer wristwatch if I'd known how long I was going to spend staring at it today.
к таким джазовым темам у меня всегда одна претензия: почему так долго?
This challenge has really reinforced something I already suspected before starting it nearly two years ago: I genuinely struggle with jazz. And this album was no different. It’s long, repetitive, and doesn’t offer much variety to pull me in. The Afrobeat infusion does add some energy and makes parts of it more engaging, but overall it’s not something I’d return to. Favourite track: Honestly, I couldn’t pick one – it all blends together for me. Least favourite track: “Ingoo Pow Pow” felt like a complete and utter mess. Album artwork: A classy cover, at least.
Jazz
Very good jazz album I’m sure but I can’t listen to much jazz for that long!
Really impressive playing, sitting somewhere between easy-listening and jazzy, but far too long to sustain my attention.
Disco incrível, que abre mão do exótico e do exagero percussivo, comum no jazz africano, em prol de uma riqueza rítmica e melódica. Excelente!
Perfect chill album. Crisp audio. Smooth all around.
Not normally into instrumentals but really enjoyed this
This project is making me realize that I don't really like trumpet music that much
No idea why this and not any other random jazz album. It was fine and groovy in parts. It had weird trumpet pageantry in others that seemed a better fit for high school drama class.
Started out good, but was way too long. Really got bored with it.
Great Jazz Album. It is very long, but it’s a good listen.
I'm not super into jazz albums at full length, but this was super well done. Great vibes.
I actually enjoyed this way more than I expected. I had such a fun time listening to this and it stayed interesting throughout even though it is quite long. I’m guessing this might be a surprise 5 star album for me. I can definitely see myself playing this again.
Not such a great idea to listen to this album back to back with Miles Davis, left it sounded pretty bland, even after In a Silent Way which is a pretty laid back Miles album, Miles is never bland. Every now and then I started getting excited about some of the builds after the solo sections, but never the solos themselves. Not my day to meet Hugh Masekela.
I don't have a ton to say about this album, but I really enjoyed listening to this album while working throughout the day. The influences of African and Afro-Cuban music added a great rhythmic energy to the album overall. Song picks are Minawa, The Big Apple, and Maseru.
So I’m gathering there is a lot of jazz on this list. No problem, but I guess I’m going to have to learn more about jazz so I can say more than “it was jazz, it was fine”. Cause right now they all sound the same to me! Good thing there’s still more than 900 albums.
I haven't met a jazz album on this list that I haven't liked so far, and that continues to be true with this album. I like the composition of this album's ensemble. The saxophone and flugelhorn sound quite nice together and shine on their own and the piano has many sweet moments throughout. I like the motown-like quality of some of the songs. My three favourite songs are Minawa, Maseru, and Maesha. The matching intro and outro in Maesha is one of the coolest moments for me. 8.5/10. Fun Fact: Maseru is the capital city of Lesotho, which is a tiny country landlocked within South Africa.
Jazz is jazz
I thought this was a cool and pretty album. I liked the jazz mixed with some with some Latin rhythms. Or was a fun album overall
This was a really great jazz album! Was not expecting to like it as much as I did based off the album art and name hahaha, guess you can never trust an album by its cover!! It was just so much more funky and fast paced than I would have guessed. Amazing trumpet playing, as well as the piano solos were absolutely baffling. Favorites were Part of a Whole and Maseru 8.5/10
Definitely something! It's fine. Not my style, and I don't know enough about the genre to appreciate the influence this has had on music downstream.
This was a great surprise, I knew Hugh Masekela's name and that he was a jazz musician with some political impact but didn't really know what to expect. Although the songs are quite long they aren't in one style and flit between a relaxed jazz club vibe to more uptempo bops. The standout track was the ballad Nomali which has a haunting melody.
Yazz
Need some of this
I'm not the biggest fan of jazz, but I respect the genre a lot. I feel a lot of the experimentation and musical theory goes way over my head, and honestly, I would very rarely sit down to listen to even some of the more accessible greats, but I still have a high level of respect for these proper musicians. The majority of this album feels quite accessible. But it does border on experimental at times, culminating in a proper nutty piece of afro-jazz experimentation, the strangest children's song you'll ever hear. But overall, it's great. Will I sit down and put it on again? Probably not too often, and that's the only reason it's losing a star from 4 - because of my own personal preferences around jazz. But, I can respect that there's some great music on this album.
I fuckin love jazz like this. If you don't we don't need to be friends.
Add another jazz album added to the list lol it was alright just not my cup of teas lol
Tracks waver between energetic and serene, but groovy throughout. Fantastic horn, piano and bass.
70s jazz. I like it.
Very nice jazz album Very long songs, but I get it because it's jazz. Drums are great on the song Blues For Huey. A great album to listen to while doing homework or studying.
Just really long, enjoyed some elements but like 70 minutes is just two much for this type of music. 2 stars
What makes this a great album is that it intermingles so many apparent and yet inevitable influences in engaging and memorable ways. On the opening track, Masekela blows like Freddie Hubbard (I think the trumpeter's implicit mentor); Larry Willis comes in on the second track sounding like his best + most fragrant version of Keith Jarrett; the third has a Cannonball Adderley-type feel; the fourth is a Miles thing w/ Ntshoko injecting the Elvin Jones we know from 'Psalm'; etc. And thankfully, he never draws from the dismal + boring hard bop of Horace Silver. I do not mean to diminish the originality of the artist by citing so many prior jazz authorities, but isn't that the point of jazz criticism to an extent? Anyway, this long record is really excellent.
It's sort of funny how often I mention that "I'm music first." "Lyrics aren't not important to me", I always say, "but I come to music for the **music**, y'know?" And that's well and fine and all; who **doesn't** come to music for the music? But it's just the thought that if that were really true that I am "music first" I'd maybe have something more to say about instrumental music like this — and I really don't. It's largely been my problem with talking about jazz, in any form. I **need** some kind of hook to go off and jazz often doesn't provide me with any. Sure, sure, there's discussing it on a compositional level, but I mean I need a hook that **I** can talk about. An album like 'Hot Rats' can provide me one with where it fits in Frank Zappa's discography ... 'In A Silent Way' had one provided for it, where I could defend it against the claim that it's elevator music ... but this? I'm not sure what the hook is supposed to be here. And I **did** look; I read up on Hugh Masekela and he sounds like a pretty upstanding guy. Largely in the same way Miriam Makeba did (and it makes total sense to me that they were married). I mean, this man has been called the father of African jazz; I should be able to pull out **something** to say about his music. And yet... But, yeah, yeah, we all know that talking about music is like dancing about architecture. I'll stop complaining and try to actually write something down. 'Home Is Where The Music Is' is ... good background music. When your ears train on it to listen to it, it's good stuff — good **structured** stuff, at that. But with these songs being as long as they are, and as generally pleasant as they are, I didn't feel the need to try and stay locked onto them for too long. Instead, I used it as an excuse to finish the book I was reading ('The Running Man', ahead of the new movie). In those terms, it's really pretty good. I sort of doubt this music was composed with the idea of it being audio wallpaper (I can't imagine any music being made that way besides ambient), but, 'ey, that's what I got out of it. And I never mean "background music" as an insult anyway. And ... that's it! Really now. And, like, sure, maybe I was distracted by my book and that's why I couldn't come up with too much to say. I can accept that. But I get the impression I'd've come out the other side with just as much to say about this music anyway. Maybe I'd have a comment to make about its length (76 minutes, goodness!), but ... yeah. I'unno. It's good stuff; just not anything that inspires me to wanna write too much. At least I was able to hit my average word count, so that's something...
Nice and jazzy. 4.5 bumped down to 4.
I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump down to a 4, but I’ll be damned if I don’t want to give this a 5 just to reward its highest highs. Can’t justify it though. It sure is 73 minutes of afrobeat-influenced jazz, with a little more of a lean towards the “jazz” than the “afrobeat” the longer the album goes along. I think it’s a delightful listen regardless, since it’s usually pretty rich in instrumentation, with melodies galore & some keyboard / percussion work that feels electric. However, there’s so, so many little paper cuts this thing has where I struggled to decide if it was a 4 or a 5. The length is… yeah, it’s too long. A lot of these tracks do have a good structure to them, and at their best, they can make some of these 10 minute tracks sound more compelling (especially so on “Maesha”, what a track). Whenever these tracks lose their structure, or get far too loose, the album hits a stale point that sounds good, but just sort of blends together in a deeply unsatisfying way. Disappointingly, Miriam Makema’s track “Unhome” is an example of this, as is the closing track, “Ingoo Pow-Pow”. They’re not bad listens at all, but they both go absolutely nowhere the whole time, just feeling like a bit of a slog in the long run of an already long album. For “Ingoo Pow-Pow”, it’s even worse, because it just doesn’t feel like it deserves to close the album out over “Maesha”, at least not to my ears. I also think this album just consistently misses the mark about when to end tracks; a lot of these build up to a really nice point, progressing in a way that feels like it’s the climax to end on… and then reverts back to the opening minute or so, just going along for another minute or two, like a YouTube video left on loop. It’s frustrating because there ARE tracks here that hit the fun, satisfying big-band finish, and do it spectacularly. That’s part of the “structure” issues I have here, which stops the album from having a more natural flow. I really do want to give this a 5, but I can’t justify it to myself – the instrumentation feels great in the moment, but the compositions themselves aren’t as disciplined as they could be. Their technical skills are incredible, and when they can hit on an electrifying sort of moment, the album feels like it’s soaring. Whenever it hits a stale point though, it just feels like it’s stuck in a traffic jam, and those moments are too persistent to keep the album’s momentum as fruitful as it could be. It is still a deeply, deeply enjoyable jazz album, but I do wish there were more of the Afrobeat elements of the first few tracks retained throughout the majority of the album, as opposed to small scatterings of it in the back half, when it mostly becomes a straight jazz / blues album. It’s a bunch of smaller paper cuts, but it’s enough where I think I have to give this a 4; granted, a 4.5 bumped down to a 4 that I still really recommend as an album, but one that just doesn’t feel as complete as some of the other jazz albums we’ve gotten. Still though, pretty good stuff.
Wow I hate jazz.
Loved this! A perfect album to unwind to. Truly enjoyed each track.
Bez ostatniego utworu gwiazdka więcej
Boring, couldn’t get into it
Building lego around Christmas time to this would go SOOOO hard
Part of A Whole was good, but it was too long to regularly listen to. It was pretty solid from there up to the drum solo in Blues for Huey. I did quite like Nomali, although like with Part of a Whole it was too long.
Fantastic jazz album, nice find from the 1001 list. Like the varied instrumentation in this with piano, brass, and african jazz rhythms in the percussion section. Favorite track: part of a whole other picks: the big apple, unhome, blues for huey, nomali
Yes. Cool jazz, sutil. Lo volví a poner
oh hell yeah
It would be unjust to rate a jazz album poorly when it's my least favourite music genre. A legend in the South African music industry gets a 3 star although there was very little of it I enjoyed.
It’s a good hang
I like me some Jazz and Afrobeat intersection, good for working music
Shreds the trumpet like his son does a half pipe. I really liked this album. Big Apple was really familiar sounding.
I had heard a few songs by him and knew he was great, but had been introduced as a contemporary of Fela Kuti and I hadn't realized he played more traditional jazz. This album was fantastic front to back, can't wait to dive deep.
This is a perfect encapsulation of a type of music that’s like “record store jazz”….melodic and something you can hum along with, not too avant garde, great musicianship and grooves, fairly suitable for any situation/mood, something you expect to hear in a record store or chopped up in your favorite sample which leads you to find the original, etc. I really enjoyed it, only demerit is a little long at 77 minutes
the saxophone is crisp and instrumentals make you want to shimmy around the room like i feel like i've been transported to a jazz bar in 1920s new orleans or something. 'part of a whole' has like 5 different songs flowing seamlessly together as one 9 minute track favourite song: inner crisis
While I haven't listened to much jazz, I always find it to be an enjoyable experience. I enjoyed the variety with this album and the many different styles incorporated.
Have to remember to listen to this with nobody around
Very enjoyable, hard bop album
Not usually much of a jazz fan but this one was fun and groovy. Really found myself liking much of it. Nice discovery for me.
I don't like Jazz.
Great instrumental album. Hugh Masekela was a master of the flugelhorn. My complaint is the pieces on this album could have been divided up into two albums. It began to drag near the end.
‘One thing I’ve learnt from 1001 is that I can’t really handle Jazz in most forms.’ This is the most liked review for this and I think it reflects my opinions exactly.
Jazz isn’t my bag, but I can appreciate it in the background like this. I’m not likely to have my mind blown or anything, but the afrobeat fusion here is nice.
Un crack el negro como toca. Linda música. Me gustó mucho más la segunda mitad. El hecho que no cante y la cuestión jazzera un poco me la baja. Sigo sin entrar de todo en el género. 5/10
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL JAZZ ALBUM. this is like perfect background music, everything is just tasteful, all the songs just work and are so cohesive, and i love the moments where the band goes into just talk and chatter. really made me feel right at home
Apart from whatever that last song was, this album is so beautiful. I love the easy to listen to background music, yet masterful playing.
jazz/swing
Fun
Snuck up on me. Great jazz album
I really wanted it to be funkier, but that's just decades of Fela influencing my expectations.
Baustelle, Gerstetten, Heidenheim. Stinklangweilig.
Just kind of bland Best Song: The Big Apple Rating: 4.5/10 Stars: 2
Not super into it :(
Good album. Competant jazz with African flourishes. The African bits are the most impassioned and interesting. The jazz is pretty ordinary though. Last track the best. Probably was groundbreaking for jazz listeners at the time but so kuedos for that but modern jazz listeners will have heard this territory explored more adventurously with better results
A serviceable, but exceedingly long jazz album with a bit of a world flourish
👋Jazz hands👋
One of my favorite albums
Maybe I like jazz?
Mostly forgettable. But, sometimes forgettable is a good thing - it's exactly the kind of jazz I like to listen to in order to be at my most productive. Mellow. 4/5
How many jazz albums will I have to sit through? Still don't like it
Not in the jazz mood today. 2/5
Ég á svolítið erfitt með að segja til hvort ég sé bara svona hrifinn af þessari tónlistarstefnu eða Hugh sjálfum en ég fílaði þetta í botn. Allt nema síðasta lagið sem mér fannst ekki passa á plötuna.
Nice. An album I’ll play again. Great horn. Very listenable.
good stuff
I couldn’t sing along but not terrible.
It’s hard to find good jazz, and this isn’t it.
- Jazz & Afrobeat album - It's a nice jazz album, and clearly lots of talent is present, I'm just not sure no-vocals jazz is really for me - Was difficult for me to get into, but would be good study/background music
Love this
An ok Jazz album. Not into it as much as others though. I like the piano parts and solos a lot though.
A pretty good jazz album.
Good
I don't know what this is or why it's on here. It says he was at the forefront of blending jazz and world music but I only hear smooth jazz. It's not offensive just a bit boring, belongs in an elevator.
Enjoyable.
It's jazz - horns and there's a piano. No thank you.
This album has a warmth and depth that’s immediately inviting. It blends jazz, funk, and African rhythms in a way that feels both effortless and carefully crafted. The arrangements are spacious, giving every instrument room to breathe, and the interplay between the musicians creates a fluid, organic energy that never feels forced. Tracks like “Part of a Whole” and “Minawa” stretch out beautifully, letting the grooves build and shift in subtle ways. Masekela’s trumpet work is rich and expressive, but it never dominates. Instead, it weaves in and out of the ensemble playing, highlighting how much this record thrives on group chemistry. There’s a balance here between improvisation and structure that keeps the music constantly moving. Home Is Where the Music Is is the kind of record that rewards attention but also works as a deeply atmospheric listen. It’s expansive without being overwhelming and has a timeless quality that makes it easy to sink into. A powerful and soulful piece of jazz that shows Masekela at his creative peak.
Started strong but devolved.
I liked this one a lot with the main drawback for me just being the length. I’d listen to a lot of these songs on their own before I’d listen to the full album again.
Run of the mill jazz. The Big Apple was the highlight for me. 2.4 outta 5
Prefer his other stuff
eh.
It was okay. I prefer vocals
Already listening to it again!! So good!
Jazz. The horny kind.
Meh
Great album, beautiful playing. A fine discovery for me!
This is the kind of jazz I’ve been looking for for a long time.
Don’t know enough about the genre to say much more than I love it. 4/ 5
Never heard before.Very impressive .
Blues for Huey…. Wow. Loved this a lot
really good awsome!!
Pen jazz. Ikke så mye mer å si.
Started yesterday and listened to about half. Didn’t annoy me as much as other 1’s, and wasn’t unlistenable. Certainly better than Miles’ first offering. Just about a 2.
New policy. All instrumental stuff is getting 1 star. Fundamentally, it's not what I listen to music for.
With instrumental jazz, my approach is now to listen to a song and decide whether it's a 1 (annoying) or 2 (boring). Congratulations to Hugh on his well-earned 2 stars
Didnt mind some of it
Good
Pretty good jazz
1/2
Delightful my-style jazz, with a tinge of funk. Excellent.
Easy listening jazz
Not a jazz guy, though sometimes I aspire to it. Loved this, but I'm always suspicious that there's something wrong with jazz I find immediately satisfying.
good
wordless
Good jazz but too long
Jazz is very much not my cup of tea, background music at its finest
Si no me equivoco, es jazz improviso y me encanta
Taking one star off for the length. This is great. Just a little too long
Pleasant jazz album. Nothing too memorable about it, though.
Great album. Really enjoyed the keys throughout it. South African Jazz, alright.
Litt for masete etter min smak
3.5 This is a great album to listen to while reading a good book and drinking a glass of red wine!
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Home is where the jazz beats flutter! 🎺🎷👐 I’m a teetotaller when it comes to Jazz offerings, having said that these grooves serve as quite a pleasant backdrop to help liven up the social atmosphere. The album blends jazz, Afrobeat, soul‑jazz and South African musical traditions. Masekela doesn’t stick to one mode but uses this double LP to wander across grooves, moods, rhythmic patterns and textures. 🎧 Classic Track: The Big Apple 🎧 Deep Cut Gem: Nomali 🚫 Skip Track: Ingoo Pow- Pow (Children’s Song) There’s both energy and space here with some tracks being quite driving & intense, while others are more balladic or reflective. That contrast allows the listener dynamic variation rather than fatigue. The album is not just music for music’s sake. Masekela (and his collaborators) bring in the influence of exile, African heritage, the apartheid context, and the longing for home—musically expressed in rhythms, in certain song choices, in the emotional tone. This gives it depth beyond aesthetics. 🖼️ Album Artwork: Meh While nothing here is arduous to enjoy, a double LP running over 75 minutes can be a lot to take in one go. Some listeners might find portions drag or feel repetitious. The variety helps, but there are parts where momentum dips.
Brilliant
A fantastic album, rich, diverse in sounds and instruments it has everything I love in an album. I think it is music that has depth, a point of view and a soul behind it. Everything as a sound and a purpose, and it is a journey to go through, full of excitement and diversity. There is very little to complain about, I may not like the final song very much for example (Ingoo Pow-Pow), but I also love that it is included because it sounds very different from the rest while still being tied together by the same brilliant person behind it. Honestly the blend of different genre is absolutely excellent, it works for me in the smoothest way, and I am really glad I got to hear it.
This is an album that reminds me why I’m doing this. What a jewel. And never heard of Hugh Masekela before. The history, the context is beautiful enough. Let alone the musicianship. But also love the production - the binaural effect of the band listening in headphones on a grey blustery Sunday afternoon. Wonderful stuff. Gets a big fat 5 from me.
It’s was okay.
not a fan
Good, nothing that blew me away like the 1952 miles Davis birth of the cool but what my untrained ear would say as standard jazz.
Nice background music, enjoyed more than I expected, however, not something I could see myself putting on again. 2.5/10
gOOD BACKGROUND TO KEEP ME MOTIVATED WHILE i DO WORK.
Excellent !
Not one standout song to add to my 1001 playlist. It's just not that kind of album. However, this is like the best background music ever. In the right environment and mood this album hits right
More of a reflection on me then the album
This is what jazz music sounds like.
jazz muito bom
Really great playing. I probably won't put it on very much unless I want to feel classy.
It’s not my favourite flavour of jazz 3/5
9/10, fantastic jazz album that's a great vibe from front to back. Not normally a jazz listener but very happy I listened to this.
A instrumental album.
I listen to my daily albums first thing with a cup of coffee. In that setting this album is fine as background noise to get your day started but can’t imagine ever choosing to listen to this again. Or any jazz album for that matter. Far too many of them on this list.
Great album
Cool album jazz Afro-fusion, parfait en background, mais surpend tout de même par moment Upbeat et assez frais, surtout dans le genre
C’est du bon jazz
Liked it a lot.
Jazz, not much more to say
Album of my year for me. I’ve listened to it like 10 times already Each song is so unique but so good. There’s such a good balance of technical mastery and soul in the music
Solid as hell, i already started relistening. Gives “madlib invades blue note” vibes. Probs the best jazz ive heard from this project. FOUR! Also FREE EARL MOB
Jedno od onih iznenađenja zbog kojih sam ušla u ovaj projekt! 4/5, 8.5/10
Unexpected but I liked this! The big apple, inner crisis, and Normali stand out but I liked it all.
I wanted to love it more than I do, but I’m an honest fellow.
I used to really like that kind of jazz, I guess I outgrew it, it is just irritating noise now
Good jazz album
Nice
I love the chaos that is jazz 😀
So chill and awesome. Perf to listen while I make my breakfast and stretch
Great listening, tad too long
I can't lie, despite the talent this bored the crap out of me. My band kid heart did enjoy the musicianship, but this album was far too long. By the end I was just really over it. Jazz in small doses is fine by me, but this was really just overdoing it. Not for me.
It's very long. I'm sure it's very good but if truth be known I would never listen to a jazz album.
Too jazzy?
7,7/10
I enjoyed this but it's not something I would choose to listen to in my day to day
Decent but not my style
Fairly sure I've heard some of these tracks before. It's like jazz meditation — interesting but I couldn't really listen through the album in one sitting. Maybe I needed a few drinks. 3/5
Another of those "this is why I'm doing this project" albums. I know of Hugh Masekela and had seen videos and heard him play on some songs back in the 80's. But this is the first time I've listened to an album of his in full. I've written previously that I prefer jazz live to recordings, as it generally doesn't keep my interest and just plays in the background. This aibum proves that to be a falsehood. I loved this. The songs totally kept me interested, and I was grooving to each of them, enjoying where they were going and loving the interplay of the various instruments. It was also a fun listen, with surprises at times that made me smile and move along with the beat and the baselines. While it was a long album, it never really felt overly so.
Great
Not my stuff.
Very good but think I've heard recent stuff like this so didn't hit as hard as the Fela Kuti album did. I'm glad to deposit his name & sound to my memory bank.
Lowkey mediocre.
Wavered between a 2 and 3 star for this as like all very long albums the songs were hit and miss. The last song pushed it down, but there were a few pleasant listens.
This was actually really great. Good background music, with great vibes and rhythms. Felt really active. I wouldn't say that I'd actively listen to this in like... the car? Or at a party. But it is good background music. Lots of energy in so many of these songs.
I had a great time with this. Great background working music. Would go back to.
FUNKY
This is good but inconsistent for me. I've enjoyed other jazz albums more but some of the songs were great! Fav-Nomali
Assez surprenant de prime abord car je ne connaissais pas du tout le travail de cet artiste, mais très agréable à écouter!
I'm realizing I like lounge jazz a lot, and "fall down the stairs" jazz very little. I found this album to be lovely. A nice mix of tempos and melodies, and I'm glad to have discovered it.