Pianist McCoy Tyner had been increasingly looking to Mother Africa for inspiration on his Blue Note recordings of the late-1960s on pieces like “African Village” and “Message from the Nile.” With his 1970 album Asante, Tyner brought those influences to the fore with a powerful set rooted in the swirling percussive rhythmic bed laid by drummer Billy Hart and percussionist Mtume. Bassist Buster Williams, guitarist Ted Dunbar, and alto saxophonist Andrew White make up the rest of the extraordinary ensemble on this four-song set that also includes the ethereal vocals of Songai on the extended album opener “Malika” and the title track. While elements of the modal jazz that Tyner pioneered in the John Coltrane Quartet course through the album, most prominently on the kinetic closing track “Fulfillment,” the music here also pointed towards future creative directions that Tyner would explore.
