Brotherhood of Breath
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The Brotherhood of Breath was a big-band created by Chris McGregor at the end of the 1960s, essentially an extension of McGregor's previous band The Blue Notes. This group included many members of the South African expatriate community resident in London, including McGregor himself, Louis Moholo, Harry Miller, Mongezi Feza, Dudu Pukwana, and occasionally Johnny Dyani and many of the free jazz musicians who were based in London at the same time: Lol Coxhill, Evan Parker, Paul Rutherford, Harry Beckett, Marc Charig, Alan Skidmore, Mike Osborne, Elton Dean, Nick Evans, Annie Whitehead and John Surman. The personnel was interchangeable, depending on who was available. The music resembles a mixture of Charles Mingus and Sun Ra, but retains a unique feel due to the South African influences and the intelligent arrangements.
