Gwotet cover
Released

Gwo-ka is a polyrhythmic folk music, played on hand drums, originating on the islands of the Guadeloupean archipelago in the Francophone Caribbean. It dates back to the 17th century, but modern gwo-ka performers like drummer and vocalist Klod Kiavue have updated the music somewhat, adding electric bass, congas, and djembe. Gwotet is Murray’s third collaboration with Kiavue, and the music is sweeter and rougher by turns than on 1998’s Creole or 2002’s Yonn-Dé, where they first took the band name David Murray & The Gwo-Ka Masters; some pieces feature as many as eight horns, and gentle, almost highlife-esque guitar. But Murray’s solos frequently reach screaming heights of ecstasy, and when special guest Pharoah Sanders turns up on “Ouagadougou” and “Ovwa,” the energy level goes through the ceiling.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Indaba Is cover

Indaba Is

Various Artists
This Is Our Music cover

This Is Our Music

The Ornette Coleman Quartet
Heaven and Earth cover

Heaven and Earth

Kamasi Washington
Ming cover

Ming

David Murray Octet
Karma cover

Karma

Pharoah Sanders
Nipples cover

Nipples

Peter Brötzmann
Wood Flute Songs cover

Wood Flute Songs

William Parker
Beyond Now cover

Beyond Now

Donny McCaslin
Codebreaker cover

Codebreaker

Matthew Shipp
Irreversible Entanglements cover

Irreversible Entanglements

Irreversible Entanglements