France

''A wild and groundbreaking record recorded by the great French tenor player Barney Wilen. Although he got his start as a bebopper in the 50's, Wilen sort of dropped out of sight by the end of the 60's and only emerged from time to time to cut strangely experimental sides. This record is unlike anything he ever made, and features a wild mix of African rhythms, ambient sound, and Wilen's deep deep tenor. By this point, Wilen had been absorbing a lot of different influences, from Coltrane, to Pharoah Sanders, to some of the European free players, and his sound is a weird mish mash of styles that weaves in and out of all the stuff on the record. It's a haunting bit of afro jazz & funky noise, with some cuts that are spacey, and others that are nice and funky.''

In 1970 Barney Wilen assembled a team of filmmakers, technicians, and musicians to travel to Africa for the purpose of recording the music of the native pygmy tribes. Upon returning to Paris two years later, he created Moshi, a dark, eccentric effort fusing avant jazz sensibilities with African rhythms, ambient sound effects, and melodies rooted in American blues traditions. Cut with French and African players including guitarist Pierre Chaze, pianist Michel Graillier, and percussionist Didier Leon, this is music with few precedents or followers, spanning from extraterrestrial dissonance to earthbound, street-legal funk. Wilen pays little heed to conventional structure, assembling tracks like "Afrika Freak Out" and "Zombizar" from spare parts of indeterminate origins. -AllMusic Review by Jason Ankeny

1. Moshi 17:00
2. Guilde's Song To Binkirri 2:55
3. Gardenia Devil 6:00
4. 14 Temps 4:50
5. Bamako Koulikaro 3:50
6. Afrika Freak Out 6:20
7. Zombizar 7:20
8. El Hadji 0:24
9. Chechaoun 12:00
10. Tindi Abalessa 10:25
11. El Hadji 1:00
12. Balandji In Bobo 3:06
13. Sannu Ne Gheinyo 5:20
14. El Hadji 0:20