''Homage to Africa'' (also released as ''Hommage to Africa'') is an album by American

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in August 1969, and released on the BYG Actuel label in 1970. On the album, Murray is joined by saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell,

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

and Kenneth Terroade, trumpeter

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, cornetist

Clifford Thornton Clifford Edward Thornton III (September 6, 1936 – November 25, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, trombonist, activist, and educator. He played free jazz and avant-garde jazz in the 1960s and '70s. Career Clifford was born in Philadelphia. ...

, trombonist

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, vocalist

Jeanne Lee Jeanne Lee (January 29, 1939 – October 25, 2000) was an American jazz singer, poet and composer. Best known for a wide range of vocal styles she mastered, Lee collaborated with numerous distinguished composers and performers who included Gunte ...

, pianist Dave Burrell, bassist

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, and percussionists

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, Earl Freeman, and Arthur Jones. The album was recorded as part of a marathon week-long BYG session which also produced Murray's '' Sunshine'' as well as albums by artists such as Archie Shepp (''

Yasmina, a Black Woman ''Yasmina, a Black Woman'' is a jazz album by Archie Shepp, recorded in 1969 in Paris for BYG Actuel. It features musicians from the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The first track, giving its title to the album, is a long free jazz piece by an 11-piece ...

'', '' Poem for Malcolm'', and ''

Blasé Blasé may refer to: * ''Blasé'' (album), an album by Archie Shepp * "Blasé" (song), a 2015 song by Ty Dolla Sign {{disambiguation ...

''), the

Art Ensemble Of Chicago The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz group that grew out of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) in the late 1960s. The ensemble integrates many jazz styles and plays many instruments, including "little ...

(''

Message to Our Folks ''Message to Our Folks'' is a 1969 album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Paris for the French BYG Actuel label.Reese and the Smooth Ones ''Reese and the Smooth Ones'' is a 1969 album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Paris for the French BYG Actuel label. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell and Malachi Favors Maghostut. Reception The ...

''), Grachan Moncur III ('' New Africa''), Alan Silva (''

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''), Dave Burrell (''

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

''),

Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographer ...

(''

What About? ''What About?'' is a solo percussion album by drummer Andrew Cyrille, his first recording under his own name. It was recorded in Paris in August 1969, and released on the BYG Actuel label later that year. The album was recorded as part of a marath ...

''), and

Jimmy Lyons Jimmy Lyons (December 1, 1931 – May 19, 1986) was an American alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. Lyons was the only constant member of the band from the mid-1960s until his death. Taylor never ...

(''

Other Afternoons ''Other Afternoons'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, recorded in 1969 and released in 1970 on the BYG label as part of their Actuel series. His first recording as leader, it features Lyons on alto saxophone along with trumpe ...

'').

Reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, Eugene Chadbourne wrote: "The two-part track 'Suns of Africa' involves a good dozen players, many of them big names in free jazz, in a kind of big gloppy piece that, even if it was well recorded, would probably not hold up to repeated listenings. A second part of this piece, less than two minutes long, seems to have been concocted from whatever the engineer was able to catch when he flipped the tape. The second side... is a much more exciting performance, although bad recording definitely hampers the trombone sound, as well as everything else including the leader's drums. The tune 'R.I.P.' is one of Murray's better compositions; simple but put together very well." Writing for '' Red Bull Music Academy'', Britt Robson remarked: "'Suns of Africa,' performed by a 13-piece band, is notable for its restraint. Multiple bells and percussion, then braided flute and wordless vocals, all work to provide a ceremonial ambiance well-suited for a big canvas... The remaining two songs are best remembered for Murray's drum solo at the end of... 'R.I.P,' giving listeners a jolt of his low end thrust on bass drum and tom toms." Critic Norman C. Weinstein commented: "The title cut... immediately established Murray as the most ''gentle'' of drummers and composers... Murray maintains an atmosphere of constant and refined coolness and gentleness throughout the recording. The impact is like that of viewing an exquisitely woven expanse of African kente cloth for the first time: dazzling bold colors softly modulate in and out of attention, as the stripes of color seem to float in a rhythmically pulsing paradise... ''Homage to Africa''... includes three dirges, and no drummer or composer in jazz puts as much delicate sweetness as well as muscular torque into dirges."

Track listing

All compositions by Sunny Murray. # "Suns Of Africa - Part 1" – 15:15 # "Suns Of Africa - Part 2" – 2:40 # "R.I.P." – 10:35 # "Unity" – 6:55

Personnel

* Roscoe Mitchell – alto saxophone, flute *

– tenor saxophone (tracks 1 and 2) *Kenneth Terroade – tenor saxophone, flute *

– trumpet, flugelhorn (tracks 1 and 2) *

– cornet *

– trombone *

– voice, bells * Dave Burrell – piano *

– bass * Arthur Jones – percussion (tracks 1 and 2) *

– xylophone, bells (tracks 1 and 2) *

Earl Freeman Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

– timpani, bells (tracks 1 and 2) * Sunny Murray – drums

Production

*Jean Georgakarakos, Jean-Luc Young – producers *Claude Jauvert – engineer

References

{{Sunny Murray, state=autocollapse 1969 albums Sunny Murray albums BYG Actuel albums