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Brotherhood of Breath
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Brotherhood of Breath was an English–South African big band, founded in the late 1960s by the South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor. The group was an expansion of his earlier band The Blue Notes. Many of its members were South African exiles in London, such as Louis Moholo, Harry Miller, Mongezi Feza and Dudu Pukwana, sometimes joined by Johnny Dyani. Free jazz musicians from London also played in it, among them Evan Parker, Elton Dean, John Surman, Mike Osborne and Harry Beckett. The line-up changed, depending on who was available.
Music and breakthrough
The album Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath was released in 1971 and includes Mra, which was recorded in 1970. Ogun Records, the label of the bassist Harry Miller, released some of the records. The original orchestra came to an end in the late 1970s after the deaths of Mongezi Feza and Harry Miller. In the early 1980s McGregor founded a second version in France with European musicians, among them Louis Sclavis and François Jeanneau. Later releases included Yes Please, Country Cooking and Travelling Somewhere.
Influence
The music resembles a blend of Charles Mingus and the experiments of Sun Ra, but has a sound of its own thanks to its South African influences and its carefully thought-out arrangements. In this way the group joined the freedom of free jazz to the lively, singing melodies of South Africa, in the context of people who had left their country.
Listening
Mra · Brotherhood of Breath, 1970- Mra · Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, 1970
- Night Poem · Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, 1970
Discography
Studio albums
- 1971Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath
- 1981Yes Please
- 1988Country Cooking
- 1994In Memoriam
- 1994The Memorial Concert
- 2001Travelling Somewhere
- 2006Brotherhood
- 2008Eclipse At Dawn
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- After Hours: Session 3NL Reader
- After Hours: Session 3NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- South African jazz Genre
The Blue Notes of the pianist Chris McGregor played at the Antibes festival in 1964 and stayed in London, where the big band Brotherhood of Breath later arose.