Harlem Bush Music: Uhuru

The sister album to Taifa (which was also cut in November 1970 with a follow-up date two months later), Uhuru finds alto saxophonist Gary Bartz and his band diving deeper into Afrocentric thought. The double drum tandem of Harold White and Nat Bettis grounds the lyrical flights of Bartz and singular jazz vocalist Andy Bey (their voices sometimes overdubbed), the bass duties split between Juni Booth on the sidelong sprawl of “Blue (A Folk Tale”) and Ron Carter on the remaining four tunes. “Blue” lopes and then catches fire, moving through many phases over its side. The second half connects the dots between Stevie Wonder, Malcolm X, and Countee Cullen thanks to Bartz’s tone, which can be sing-songy one moment to harmonize with Bey and then fiery the next. Bey is elegantly defiant on “Uhuru Sasa” and cosmic on “Celestial Blues.” Uhuru sets Bartz at the nexus of spiritual jazz and R&B, a vein he would mine to increasing success in the years ahead.