For more than three decades, Sharon Katz & The Peace Train have made music that crosses borders as naturally as it crosses genres. Born from South Africa’s turbulent transition out of apartheid and carried around the world ever since, the project has always treated collaboration as both musical language and philosophy. On the six-track Desert Air, released July 14, those instincts sound as vibrant as ever.
Recorded across South Africa, Mexico, and the United States, Desert Air brings South African rhythmic foundations into conversation with jazz, rock, folk, and the musical colors Katz has gathered through years of travel. The result is wonderfully organic: warm, percussion-rich, and driven by musicians who sound less like assembled contributors than a band genuinely responding to one another.
Oh Baby Baby makes that chemistry obvious immediately. Katz trades vocals with South African ensemble Afrika Mamas over a buoyant groove, while guitar, bass, and percussion keep the track in almost constant motion. It is playful, affectionate, and enormously difficult to hear without tapping a foot or swaying along.
Someone to Love eases into a smoother pocket, with David Church’s saxophone adding a smoky jazz accent to its relaxed romanticism. The title track follows with a breezier, more spacious arrangement. Featuring Wendy Quick, Desert Air feels sunlit and unhurried, pairing its environmental consciousness with a gentle sway rather than turning the message into a lecture.
The energy lifts again on So Free, where hand percussion, guitar, and the unmistakable vocal presence of Afrika Mamas give a complicated subject a remarkably joyful pulse. Freedom here is not presented as something simple or effortless, but the music itself seems determined to celebrate its possibilities.
Perhaps the collection’s most evocative moment arrives with A Place I Call Home. Its spacious arrangement and layered harmonies capture something familiar to anyone who has spent enough time moving between places: the strange relationship between travel, belonging, and the idea of home itself.
Then Turn the Page closes the collection with a gentler sense of forward motion. Qhubekani Mthethwa’s bass provides a warm rhythmic foundation while Katz’s guitar and George Mari’s flugelhorn add color and texture without disturbing the track’s reflective ease. It is an apt finale for a collection so interested in movement, both geographical and personal.
Co-produced by Katz and Sibusiso Dust Nkosi, Desert Air feels worldly without ever feeling calculated. Its cultures and influences coexist naturally, held together by generous performances, irresistible rhythm, and an enduring belief in music as a meeting place.
Our final verdict? Highly Recommended.
BELOW: Listen to Sharon Katz & The Peace Train and check out their music online. Please support Sharon Katz & The Peace Train by visiting their website and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing their music. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music.