Oneness of Juju

Oneness of Juju emerged in 1974 as the renamed second version of Juju, the Afrocentric ensemble saxophonist, composer, and producer James Plunky Branch had launched three years earlier in San Francisco. Juju’s initial direction drew from spiritually and politically conscious vanguard jazz, a focus that carried into the pair of Strata East LPs the group cut after relocating to New York: Message from Mozambique (1973) and Chapter Two: Nia (1974). Branch’s return to his native Richmond, Virginia, at the end of 1974 prompted both a roster overhaul that added vocalists and a shift toward broader R&B textures, prompting the new moniker. The resulting sound, captured on the three Black Fire sessions African Rhythms (1975), Space Jungle Luv (1976), and Bush Brothers & Space Rangers (recorded 1977, issued 1996), aligned more closely with the approach of the Ohio Players and Kool & the Gang. By the following year the billing had become Plunky & Oneness of Juju, and the album Make a Change introduced reggae and smooth-jazz inflections. Two decades later the group folded hip-hop elements into Got to Be Phunky (2001) and followed it a year later with Got to Move Something; Live in Paris appeared in 2006 as the final document. Now-Again reissued Chapter Two: Nia in 2020, while Strut’s 2021 catalog program restored Make a Change.

After finishing at Columbia University in the mid-1960s, the Richmond-born saxophonist, composer, and arranger James “Plunky” Branch moved west and took up residence in San Francisco. There he encountered exiled South African drummer Indiko Slava, whose introduction to African musical traditions convinced Branch that Black music could simultaneously serve political and spiritual ends while supplying communities with social, cultural, and educational support. Branch recognized parallels between these lessons and the explorations undertaken by Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp.

In 1971 he assembled JuJu, whose original members included Babatunde Lea (congas and drums), Ken Shabala (bass), Lon Moshe (vibes and woodwinds), Al Hammel Rasul (piano), and Jalanga Ngoma (timbales); every participant also played percussion. The collective reached New York City in 1972, coinciding with the rise of the Loft scene. Rooted in spiritual and vanguard jazz, poetry, and percussion, the group signed with the artist-run Strata East imprint and released Message from Mozambique in 1973, earning respect from fellow musicians and a measure of critical notice. Chapter Two: Nia followed in 1974. Although still abstract, the album absorbed Fela Kuti’s nascent Afrobeat, the intricate funk of James Brown, modal improvisation, and additional strands. (Decades afterward, P-Vine issued the archival Live at 131 Prince Street from Ornette Coleman’s Soho loft, and Now-Again followed in 2020 with Live at the East, 1973.) JuJu aligned itself with Coleman and Sun Ra, sharing bills with both, while Branch also worked as a sideman for Pharoah Sanders and Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

Later in 1974 Branch moved the band from New York back to Richmond, where spiritual jazz proved commercially difficult amid a local Black music landscape dominated by R&B and gospel. The ensemble adopted the name Oneness of Juju and began evolving its sound. Lea, Rasul, and Moshe relocated with the group; Branch added his brother Philip Branch (Muzi Nkabinde) and Philip “Pee Wee” Ford on bass, singer Eka-Ete Jackie Lewis (Jacqueline Holoman), drummer Ronnie Toler, and balafon player Reggie Brisbane. Their fusion of jazz-funk, spiritual soul, and R&B combined the instrumental agility of Kool & the Gang, the exploratory ideas of Herbie Hancock, and the social awareness of Gil Scott-Heron. Because venues rarely accommodated such a large ensemble, the musicians frequently performed at political rallies where messages of empowerment and self-realization found receptive audiences. They joined Jimmy Gray’s independently distributed Black Fire label and issued African Rhythms in 1975. Limited distribution kept the album off the charts, yet it received critical praise and its title track became the theme for Howard University’s news program The Daily Drum. Charisma Productions booked them to open for Roy Ayers, Chuck Brown, Lonnie Liston Smith, Norman Connors, and Gil Scott-Heron.

Space Jungle Luv, released in 1976, ventured further; pianist Joe Bonner replaced Rasul, and the music merged funk, African highlife, Latin rhythms, and the emerging smooth jazz of Grover Washington, Jr., Roy Ayers, and George Benson into an expansive yet accessible dance-floor jazz. Traces of this approach surface in the twenty-first-century work of Kamasi Washington and Nubya Garcia. Bush Brothers & Space Rangers was recorded the next year with Brian Jackson of the Midnight Band on piano, but Black Fire’s distribution and financial troubles kept it unreleased until P-Vine issued it in the mid-1990s.

By 1980 Plunky had again altered the band’s name, personnel, and direction. Only Eka-Ete Jackie Lewis and Muzi Nkabinde remained; the expanded lineup now featured second lead vocalist Virtania Tillery, three backing singers, two keyboardists, and two guitarists. The new material incorporated reggae and rock alongside jazz-funk and R&B. Although the group toured Europe and supported Ray Charles, Gil Scott-Heron–Brian Jackson, Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers, and Frankie Beverly & Maze, sales remained modest. They continued to headline festivals worldwide. In 1984 the hard funk, post-disco set Electric Juju Nation/Keep It Moving appeared on N.A.M.E., with Tillery assuming lead vocals.

Plunky’s first solo album, Tropical Chill, surfaced in 1988 even though Oneness of Juju performed it. The band kept touring, sometimes headlining, sometimes supporting major artists, and sometimes serving as Plunky’s backing unit. Under his own name he released Move Into the Light (1990) and One World One Music (1992). X Marks the Spot, credited to Plunky & the Oneness of Juju and featuring Desiree Roots on lead vocals, came out on Soulciety in 1996; that same year P-Vine gave Bush Brothers & Space Rangers its first official release while Japanese and European reissues of the Strata East and Black Fire catalog appeared. During subsequent tours of Europe and Asia the newly styled Plunky & Oneness recorded Got to Be Phunky (2001) and the double-disc Got to Move Something (2002, N.A.M.E. Brand), the latter pairing a new studio album with a live set taped in Atlanta. Live in Paris, issued in 2006 in both audio and video formats, marked the group’s final recording. Plunky also issued the solo albums Cold Heat (2006) and Drive It (2008) on N.A.M.E.

In the twenty-first century the Strata East and Black Fire catalog has seen repeated reissues. Now-Again paired the previously unissued Live at the East (1973) with a fresh edition of Chapter Two: Nia in 2020. Strut has kept African Rhythms and Space Jungle Luv available; in 2021 the label remastered and reissued Make a Change.