tenderlonious: africa/brass live
Francisco Espregueira
There are plenty of tributes to jazz classics, but few approach them with the openness that Tenderlonious brings to Africa/Brass Live. Released on his own 22a label, the album revisits John Coltrane's groundbreaking 1961 masterpiece through a modern lens. The original studio session beautifully captured the revolutionary spirit of a changing African continent through lush arrangements and trance-inducing saxophone arpeggios. For Ed Cawthorne—the man behind the moniker—modal jazz is a deeply spiritual discipline.
The raw energy of Africa/Brass Live was captured on a Monday night at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival in October 2025. It went down as part of Pique-nique’s innovative Take Two series. The event began with a pure, high-fidelity playback of Coltrane's original masterpiece before the band unleashed their own live interpretation. To pull this off, the bandleader assembled a fiercely talented quartet. He flew in his longtime London drum collaborator, Tim Carnegie. They then linked up with Melbourne heavyweights Horatio Luna on bass and On-Ly on piano. Using the original melodies simply as a launchpad, the group engaged in a wildly intense, spontaneous musical search. Available on vinyl.
Tenderlonious: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute
On-Ly: piano
Horatio Luna: bass
Tim Carnegie: drums