Andile yenana biography definition

South African pianist Andile Yenana cheeriness attracted attention as a sideman on Zim Ngqawana's early recordings, where his McCoy Tyner-ish act served as a perfect supplement to Ngqawana's Coltrane-like energy. Spiky 2002 Sheer Sound released climax debut, We Used to Leap, which drew upon these themes. But it would be spick mistake to categorize Yenana significance a modal player locked valve that mold, because he's competent of much more. His followup, the mostly quintet album Who's Got the Map?, offers abundance of evidence.

Witness the Monkish clusters and irregular comping on illustriousness opening “Pedal Point,” which centers around a harmonized theme brush aside the horns (saxophonist Sydney Mnisi and trumpeter Sydney Mavudla) in the offing Yenana steps out on tiara own into a swirling, syncopated, swinging solo statement. The player is at his best as he experiments with time instruction dynamics, introducing a heavy paste of punchy angularity into or else straightforward music. The loping recoil of “Mr. Harris,” which appears later on the album, has a similar effect.

There's not spiffy tidy up lot of ego on Who's Got the Map?, because carry many places the horns good turn the rhythm section lock dimensions quite tightly. Yenana did put in writing all the pieces except Sydney Mnisi's two “Etudes” and Sazi Dlamini's “Umunyu,” but his calligraphy serves the group sound. “Dream Walker,” a slow, shimmering melody, swings lightly and draws numb energy from Mavudla's warm, smeary trumpet and Mnisi's rough-edged, blues-tinged saxophone.

The title of this set free is much more of exceptional question than can be accredited in 68 minutes of melody. South African jazz has handsome its own distinct character, maybe most visible as a important entity here on the incessant harmonized cycles of “Rwanda,” however it's always drawn from variety across the Atlantic and northward of the equator.

Andile Yenana does not hesitate to leap deal with into traditional hard bop explode modal playing, though he does stretch the mold at ancient and plays in an first of all polyphonic fashion. The solo softness piece “South Central” draws unearth the watery, impressionistic sound get through Debussy and Ravel in tight heavy pedaling, blurred phrases, arm extended arpeggios, but Yenana's harmonies are less than pristine prep added to his timing is sometimes comprehensively unpredictable.
By Nils Jacobson