Asro

Kala Jula and the Gangbé Brass Band have each had their own albums issued by Buda Musique, and now they’re here together, recorded live in Monthey, Switzerland in October 2019. Given today's technical advancements, the sound quality is a touch too raw and woolly, especially in the bass regions, but it does succeed in capturing the rowdy ambiance of a clap-crazy audience in what sounds like a voluminous theatre-space.

Kala Jula is a Swiss-Malian group, seemingly with an evolving roster, while the Gangbé crew parade the Benin streets with their boisterous horns held aloft. They enjoy slinging New Orleans motifs into their arrangements, as well as soloing vigorously in a freedom-jazz fashion. The multi-instrumentalist Kala Jula use guitars, ngoni, kora and percussion, with balafon-player Fama Diabaté also handling the vocals.

An opening burst lays out the combined partying thrust of Asro, but there soon follows a clutch of slower songs, where the Malian background of Kala Jula is more prominent. Nevertheless, Gangbé often solo during these, as if they’re jazz numbers. ‘Treme Cissé’ is yet another dirge (in the positive sense), with the horns entering around four minutes in, delivering a string of impassioned solos, topped by a hard-testifyin’ trombone. The title-track provides the finale, with all elements coming together, fully firing. There's yet another bursting trombone solo from Wendo Martial Ahouandjinou, and a thrilling djembé solo, presumably courtesy of Vincent Zanetti.