Shane Cooper and Mabuta Release Debut Album, “Welcome To This World”
Last year, bassist Shane Cooper launched a new project called Mabuta. The South African band is billed as a jazz quintet, but their mix of jazz, world music, and electronica blend into something that is hard to pin down as one genre. That’s evident by their debut recording, Welcome To This World, which is available now.
The Johannesburg-based band consists of Bokani Dyer, Sisonke Xonti, Robin Fassie-Kock, and Marlon Witbooi, each of whom bring a unique flavor to make a musical stew. Cooper holds down the bottom end on both double bass and electric bass, sometimes drifting between the instruments mid-composition as on “Bamako Love Song.” An homage to the capital of Mali, it creates a great contrast as the song juxtaposes a traditional West African groove against modern jazz sections.
Cooper released a solo version of the song after announcing the band, which makes it cool to hear the full band version:
Welcome To This World is available now as a digital download.
Welcome To This World Track List:
- Welcome To This World
- Bamako Love Song (Feat. Shabaka Hutchings)
- Fences (Feat. Shabaka Hutchings)
- Beneath The Waves
- Log Out Shut Down
- As We Drift Away
- Tafattala
- The Tunnel
