Rwandan/Burundian Mighty Popo has had great success with Souljazz Orchestra and African Guitar Summit, which hopefully will give this fine album a bit of a push. Muhazi proves once again that the production of African music in Canada continues to make incremental progress in its expertise and vision. As with most Afro-Canadian records, a variety of rhythms from across Africa and beyond are on display. "Manu, his tribute to legendary Cameroonian sax player Manu Dibango, is an upbeat hi-life track. The full, punchy mix of "Agasaza, with a Junior Walker style sax solo in a Latin-esque horn arrangement, is another example of all the pieces coming together. The sensitive acoustic guitar ballads an annoying adult contemporary feature of too many discs these days are kept fresh with an atmospheric mix, as is the Afro-rumba "Imandwa. Frequently, the mixing saves songs from sounding too dull. The highlights of this disc are two storming tunes: the nasty funk of "Nyirabisabo, which kicks up a fine six/eight skank, and the dense polyrhythms of "Asante. Ten years ago, this tracks complex percussion interplay would have been blitzed in reverb but weve come a long way since then. Muhazi fulfils Popos purpose of being defined not just as a Rwandan/Burundian refugee but as part of the constellation of African musicians in Canada striving towards an inclusive sound.
(Tamba)Mighty Popo
Muhazi
BY David DacksPublished Jul 20, 2007