Amandla (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Amandla | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 18, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | December 1988 – early 1989 | |||
| Genre | Pop jazz, funk, jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 43:16 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Tommy LiPuma, Marcus Miller, George Duke | |||
| Miles Davis chronology | ||||
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Amandla is an album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1989. The word Amandla holds significance in various Nguni languages, including Zulu and Xhosa, where it translates to "power." It is the third collaboration between Miles Davis and producer/bassist Marcus Miller, following their previous works Tutu (1986) and Music from Siesta (1987), and it serves as their final album together.
The album mixes elements of the genres go-go, zouk, funk and jazz, combining electronic instruments with live musicians. The composition "Mr. Pastorius", featuring drummer Al Foster, is a tribute to late jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius.[1] "Catémbe" is a Mozambican and Angolan cocktail of red wine and cola.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| DownBeat | [3] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
| Hi-Fi News & Record Review | A*:2[5] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [6] |
| MusicHound Jazz | 2/5[7] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [9] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | B+[10] |
In a contemporary review, DownBeat said Amandla possessed "a precise and consistent sound that flows through the shifting instrumental combinations and lingers after the music has stopped".[3] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), J. D. Considine felt the record sounded "vaguely African" and somewhat conservative because of its reliance on session musicians.[8]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Marcus Miller, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Catémbe" | 5:35 | |
| 2. | "Cobra" | George Duke | 5:15 |
| 3. | "Big Time" | 5:40 | |
| 4. | "Hannibal" | 5:49 | |
| 5. | "Jo-Jo" | 4:51 | |
| 6. | "Amandla" | 5:20 | |
| 7. | "Jilli" | John Bigham | 5:41 |
| 8. | "Mr. Pastorius" | 5:41 |
