Oneness Of Juju - Follow Me

From the album Space Jungle Luv.

"Based around saxophonist James Plunky Branch, Oneness of Juju was the second incarnation of the Afrocentric creative jazz group Juju who recorded two albums for the Strata East label in the early '70s. Along with new members and new instruments, including the introduction of a drum kit to the African and Afro-Cuban percussion section, a new name was adopted to reflect the direction of the group. While Juju was often compared to Pharoah Sanders and active in the loft jazz scene in New York, Oneness of Juju incorporated more populist R&B elements and introduced vocals to the new group sound as well. The sound of this incarnation, more akin to the Ohio Players and Kool & the Gang at this point, was documented on two recordings, 1975's African Rhythms and Space Jungle Luv in 1976. Ever-evolving, smooth jazz and hip-hop were incorporated in the '80s and the group continued as Plunky & Oneness."
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:djfoxq9gldse~T0

"The message was enormously positive on the debut Oneness of Juju record, and for the follow-up, bandleader Plunky Branch developed a lighter, more free sound to parallel the consciousness-raising themes. Make no mistake: the group plays just as tight as on African Rhythms, but here the emphasis is on creating an atmosphere instead of approximating a religious ritual. As on the first record, the opener is the hands-down highlight; Plunky latches onto a short, playful theme, stretches it out into a vibrant solo, and returns to it often over the course of eight minutes (even switching from tenor to alto after a few minutes). Pianist Joe Bonner also contributes a solid solo, and vocalist Eka-Ete Jackie Lewis sounds powerful but very calm and controlled, wordlessly vocalizing her own solo underneath Bonner and Plunky. Quieter numbers like "Soul Love Now" and "Love's Messenger" rely more on exploratory percussion than a steady rock backbeat, but "Space Jungle Funk" and "Got to Be Right on It" are two of the heaviest tracks the band had cut up to that point. As on the first, great playing from a tuned-in band carries the day over an occasional lack of innovation or imagination. [The 2002 reissue on Strut added the previously unreleased track "F#" to the program.]"
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3vfqxqekldje

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Oneness
• Of
• Juju
• soul
• jazz

[LATruckLove]

I think beasie boys sampled this

[Karlideem]

@MrMusicevolution I appreciate your response to my words. You can always go back and claim good music for your own!! Brother, you can here Fertile Ground (who is from this city), The Rebirth, Five Point Plan, etc. It's what I call conscious music. Enjoy the music ... good music never get old... Peace

[MrMusicevolution]

@Karlideem River Luv Rite was a great song..I was a little young to remember this group but I'm diggin' everythying I've heard from them.

[Karlideem]

As a teenager at this point in time was absolutely AMAZING!! Musically, the atmosphere was so ripe for the music lover that one could literally go in any musical directional, genre-wise, and find gold! As the decade was etching toward 1975, I can now say with confidence that this was the ending of creativeness in American cultural music genius that began, I believe, in the late 1930's. Juju had a number called "River Luvrite" in "76 that I just fell in love with. Thanks. Peace