Jazz, R&B and ‘sophistifunk’: James Mtume’s greatest recordings

Kuumba-Toudie Heath – Baraka (1969)

The biological son of saxophonist Jimmy Heath, brought up by Dizzy Gillespie sideman James Forman, James Mtume was raised in jazz. His first appearance on record was on the 1969 album Kawaida, credited to his uncle, drummer Albert Heath – and on subsequent reissues to Herbie Hancock or Don Cherry, both of whom perform on it.

But, really, Kawaida is Mtume’s album: he wrote every track bar one, and it was his interest in the pan-Africanist theories of Maulana Karenga that informed the project. It ranges from intense free jazz to more becalmed modal outings: Baraka falls into the latter category, a perfect introduction.

Miles Davis – Mtume (1974)

Mtume first