The Yussef Dayes Experience
Live At Joshua Tree (Presented By Soulection)

For almost thirty years the conductor Abigail Cecílio de Moura led the Orquestra Afro-Brasileira, donating their effort as if it were a religious devotion. Before each presentation, he acted like a priest giving thanks, raising the stage for sacred space. The Orchestra was founded in April 10, 1942, with the purpose of studying and disseminating folk music and Brazilian customs, using sociology and anthropology to disseminate it. Mainly based on percussion instruments, at the time called barbaric, plus the civilized instruments: piano, sax, trombone. This album was originally released in 1968.

With a hybrid jazz based on African grooves, Ethio-oriental melodies and psychedelic dub this Belgian five-piece creates an atmosphere where ancient and modern sounds fuse into a powerful, hypnotic and groovy sensation.

Pianist/keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith played on such classic Pharaoh Sanders' albums as Karma and Thembi, but 1973 saw his emergence as a band leader when he formed the Cosmic Echoes. 1974's Cosmic Funk is their second album, featuring vocals from Lonnie's brother, Donald Smith. Aside from renditions of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and John Coltrane's "Naima," this record marks a transition away from Smith's earlier free jazz roots, moving into spacious, funk/fusion territory on cuts like "Peaceful Ones" and the title track.