Julian Argüelles, the saxophonist and composer who emerged on the Loose Tubes wave in the 1980s, now has an international reputation for both his playing and his powerful writing, but this tribute to South Africa’s world-jazz impact highlights his gifts as an arranger. Argüelles appears here with his drummer brother Steve, and with pianist Django Bates – all of them having worked with late lamented South African exiles including Chris McGregor and Dudu Pukwana. Those influences course through this effervescent set, on which the Argüelles siblings, Bates, and the soloists of the punchy Frankfurt Radio Bigband bring some timelessly thrilling music back to life. Pukwana’s pounding classic Mra Khali gets a pin-sharp ensemble treatment that doesn’t cramp its old joyousness; Miriam Makeba’s swaying Retreat Song gets imaginatively talkative muted-trombone variations from Peter Fell and a swerving accordion-like keys break from Bates; the arrangement of Abdullah Ibrahim’s The Wedding hides the melody in a slow rapture; and the band’s hard-hit riffing on Pukwana’s gleeful Come Again makes you jump gratefully out of your skin. It’s a delightful album.
