MARK TURNER wallows in the virtuosity of Swansea Jazz Festival openers, Simon Spillett and Pete Long
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Global Routes with Tony Burke: May 20, 2022
Seminal 1970s recordings by Gabon’s Orchestre Massako reissued
Jean-Christian Mboumba Mackaya (aka Mack-Joss) fronted Gabon’s Orchestre Massako from 1971
[Analog Africa] 
PAUL DONOVAN recommends three new books that explore the human relationship with nature
Doomed adolescents, when the missing person is you, classic whodunnit, and an anti-capitalist eco-thriller
WILL STONE takes a ticket to indie disco heaven, but misses the rarely performed tunes
Reviews of new releases by Jens Lekman, Big Thief, and Christian McBride Big Band
TOM PIERSCIONEK recommends a remarkable series of interviews with those few and brave Israeli citizens who refuse to do military service
JEAN-CHRISTIAN Mboumba Mackaya (aka Mack-Joss) fronted Gabon’s Orchestre Massako from 1971 — when the armed forces formed their own band.
Aged 17, he was well known on Gabon’s nightlife scene having released the pan-African hit record Le Boucher/The Butcher.
Between 1968 and 1970 Mack-Joss and his Negro-Tropical recorded 45s at an open-air studio. In the late 1970s his Studio Mobile Massako was built and he would fly to France, with the master tapes in his hand luggage, press the records and ship them back to African distributors.
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