Ghetto Blaster

Band

The story of Ghetto Blaster begins in 1983, in Lagos, Nigeria. GHETTO BLASTER starts out by being the title of a musical documentary , which tells the story of a journey from Paris to Lagos made by Pascal Imbert, the band's first producer, and the two musicians Stéphane Blaess (guitar) and Romain (voice). Upon their arrival, the musicians of FELA & EGYPT 80's, Fela's previous group: Kiala Nzavotunga (guitar and voice), Ringo Avom (drums) and Udoh Essiet (percussions) join up with the French musicians, followed by Betty Ayaba (vocals), Frankie Ntoh Song (keyboards) and Willy N'For (bass and vocals). The co-creator with Fela of Afrobeat, drummer Tony Allen, contributes to getting GHETTO BLASTER on the road by giving guidance throughout the rehearsals.

They arrive in Paris in June 1983, and install themselves on a house boat anchored next to the Austerlitz train station, which they use as their living quarters as well as their rehearsal studio. The movie relating their adventures is broadcast for the first time in 1984 on national tv station Antenne 2. That same year, GHETTO BLASTER release the EP PREACHER MAN on Island Records. It is a big success right from the start.

1984 sees the release of the album PEOPLE on French label Mélodie, which was re-released by the company Follow Me in 2002. This release brings their music to a wider audience. GHETTO BLASTER embark on a tour of the USA and play first parts for such great musicians as Manu Dibango, Archie Shepp, Fela Kuti, Kool & the Gang, James Brown and Maceo Parker. At the end of the 80ies, the death of their singer Betty Ayaba, followed by that of their bass player Willy N'For in 1997, causes the group to disband for a while.

After a long silence, GHETTO BLASTER are back lead by Kiala, Frankie and the singer Myriam Betty. In 2003, Ghetto Blaster celebrated their 20th anniversary (1983-2003) by releasing their most recent album, RIVER NIGER. Since then, they have been playing many exciting dates in the great Paris clubs and in French and European festivals.

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Their music

Ghetto Blaster keep alive the flame which was maintained for more than a quarter of a century by the godfather, Fela Kuti.
First, you have the incredible riffs, frantic rhythms poured into jazz, funk, rock, rhythm'n'blues and soul. Their afro beat with its special, modern style proves that they remain the pioneers of afro rock and afro jazz in Europe. The voices of african beat never die down. It has to be said that the group carried the afro beat wave in their wake through Europe, particularly in the 80s, before there was a lull in their activity. Then they came back in force, thanks to a second album which came out in 2003, and above all on stage, where they never let the fire cool on their fusion style, throbbing with an explosive groove.

While keeping their hold on the secrets of the afro beat temple, Ghetto invite us to new horizons, without confusing the genres, catalysing a new energy which tends towards the Rock'n'Funk'n'Blaster. Their latest album proves it. It symbolises their journey and their maturity. The lyrical soaring of " Batu Mwindu " takes you to Zaïre. " Je m'appelle Kiala " is a really fresh, open track which invites us to celebration among friends. After a few other musical escapades, we come back to the roots, as " Reality " well and truly proves that the reality of afro beat hits home as well as ever.

The group, which has only brought out two albums, never stops increasing the quality of its creative output. You can be sure that the future will bring us yet more sumptuous productions, synonymous with the consecration of such great efforts.

Source



Tracklist

01. Intro
02. River Niger
03. Batu Mwindu
04. Ghetto Blaster 1974
05. Living in the Village
06. Together
07. Reality
08. Toyemba
09. Je Mappelle
10. Happy Days
11. Mbanza Mpuena (Holy City)
12. Baninga Y Africa
13. Batu Mwindu (remix)
14. Bolingo (remix) and Outro

Femi Kuti - Interview 2007

Femi Fatale ...
Son of legendary Fela Kuti carries on the revolutionary beat



Information

It would seem a daunting task to step out of the shadow of a man known to his fellow countrymen as “the black president.” But Femi Kuti, son of Nigerian Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, has managed to embrace his father’s legacy while rising to stardom in his own right. Combining his father’s funk- and jazz-infused African highlife music with elements of dance and the occasional house beat, Femi has helped bring Afrobeat into the 21st century — collaborating with the likes of Mos Def, Common and Macy Gray, among others. Ten years after his father’s death from AIDS, the 46-year-old singer/sax player continues to live and raise his family in Lagos, the Nigerian capital. He’s reopened his father’s legendary nightclub, the Shrine, which was shut down by the government in the 1980s, and plays free shows several nights a week.

Though politically active like his father, Femi has recently taken a Bob Dylan–like retreat from public life — eschewing overt political action in favor of spending time with his family and letting his music speak for him. This comes in the wake of years of public proclamations against democracy — a position no doubt birthed by the election of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. A former Nigerian military dictator known for brutally squashing political dissent, Obasanjo routinely harassed and arrested Femi’s father for his political activity during the 1970s, and his soldiers were responsible for the murder of Femi’s grandmother.

Femi’s controversial take on democracy earned him no friends in Nigeria, even contributing to the failure of his marriage, but events in Nigeria seem to have upheld his position. After eight years of quasidemocratic rule under Obasanjo, and despite housing one of the largest oil reserves on the planet, nearly 60 percent of Nigeria’s 140 million people live in abject poverty, and government inaction has allowed AIDS to ravage the country — one in 25 are now infected. In May, Obasanjo was finally forced out of power after the Nigerian legislature refused to let him alter the constitution to run for a third term. But any pretense of democratic victory was short lived, as Obasanjo’s handpicked successor, Umaru Yar’Adua, subsequently took control of the presidency in what was widely considered the most fraudulent election in Nigeria’s history. Violence has since escalated as militants have taken up arms against the government, and kidnappings of foreigners have increased — including the recent taking of a 3-year-old British girl. With Nigeria simmering on the brink of collapse, Femi, in the days before his upcoming House of Blues show, spoke to the L.A. Weekly about his life, music and the fate of his fragile nation.

Source

The interview


Fela once said, “Music is the weapon of the future.” Do you feel the same?

Absolutely. Music is a way of communicating with everyday people and getting across a message that relates to them, not to only leaders. Music is the voice of truth in the face of political dishonesty. It tells the people what they ultimately feel rather than what they are told by politicians.

Since your father’s death in 1997, has AIDS awareness become a part of his legacy in Nigeria?

Yes, it brought some awareness of the disease, but AIDS is not very public and is still a taboo subject. The messages are very mixed: Is there a cure? Is there not? And if there is, then it doesn’t matter — I can sleep with someone and get the disease and be cured. There is confusion that AIDS is a disease for homosexuals — so most of the population says, “I’m not gay. So, great — I can carry on as normal.” The church also squashes the issue of using condoms and makes it something that is wrong to do — so ignorance carries on. The church has got to start changing so that people will start listening and taking action. There should be posters and advertising everywhere making it clear that it is a disease that anybody can get.

What’s your take on Bono and concerts like Live 8 that campaign on behalf of Africa?

Bono doesn’t need to tell us that we are poor. We know we are poor. All these concerts come and go and nothing changes in Africa.

So then what’s the best way for concerned Americans to get involved with helping Africa?

Not to feel sorry for us but to be positive toward us. Do more business with us. Come and visit us. We, in turn, have to get stronger and not rely on leaders to do everything for us. We must take action ourselves. But Western democracies must also stop turning a blind eye to African corruption and start taking action — then we can start moving forward as a nation.

Do you get many foreign visitors to the Shrine?

Yes, all the time. My father and I are known internationally, so there are many people who want to pay respect to my father. Also, people just love Afrobeat, and it is the birthplace of it.

Many have called the recent elections the most corrupt in Nigeria’s history. Is the presidency of Umaru Yar’Adua widely perceived as illegitimate?

Well, Nigerians are used to being let down by their government. Our leaders are never held to account, so there is no honesty. People are poorer, things in the market are getting more expensive, life is getting more difficult by the day. And when these people get into power they never fulfill their promises. You see them with their big cars, they buy houses in England or America, they give their kids the best education, but the crop of the people, the masses themselves, they lose. Despite being Africa’s biggest oil exporter, the country has fallen far behind other developing countries. Most people blame corruption. Since independence from Britain in 1960, an estimated $400 billion of oil revenues have gone missing — presumed stolen, by our military and political elite. Two billion has been recovered, so our country is going in the right direction — at least now if you do steal you could get caught! But a whole culture change still needs to happen.

Have recent events made you reconsider becoming more active in Nigerian governmental affairs — in taking over your father’s mantle as “the black president”?

If someone wants to be president, good luck to them. But I don’t ever want to be president — sitting in a department, signing stupid documents and all that. I have my path; others have theirs. No one can follow my path because they don’t know my path. Let them follow their own path. Let them have their own lifestyle and identity.

You’ve said in the past that you don’t believe in democracy. What do you believe in?

I’m going to be a leader of myself. All I can do is just try to be a good human being and fight to eradicate bad vibes like jealousy and greed from my way of thinking. I want to be happy and make other people happy too.

Interview published by L.A. Weekly on July 19, 2007, written Matthew Fleischer

Source

Afrobeat Down - Lamb Of The Body

Band

AfroBeat Down: L.A.'s Premier Afrobeat Ensemble, delivers driving, raw, un-cut African Funk straight to your Nyash; making your body move and shake to the rhythms of Nigeria circa 1970. ABD's 10-15 members strong are inspired and dedicated to maintaining the Afrobeat musical tradition; the legacy of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. ABD's message is fused in Power packed, Political, Polyrhythmic Consciousness focused on bringing people together to fight Oppression and enjoy a peaceful, light filled life. Aloha.

"...Oppressors, Destroyers, masochists can never be great people. Creativity, not destruction, should be the yardstick of greatness. If you cannot create anything that will make your own life, or that of a fellow human, happier, then get out of the way. Split! Disappear! And give others a chance."

Source

Comments

"Thanks for keeping the Afrobeat burning on the West Coast!" - Martin Perna , Antibalas

"They got the Afrobeat thang hooked up!" - Sandra Izsadore , Fela's "Africa '70"

"Fela Kuti fanatics should not miss the dance infused jams of Afrobeat Down..." - Contra Costa Times.

"For five years, L.A.'s Afrobeat Down has dedicated itself to celebrating the life of Fela Kuti.... Not content to be just a cover band, the group has written its own songs as well. ABD's first album, 2005's Lamp of the Body, is heavy on the sax and rhythm section, but the only cover is a live version of "Gentleman." Afrobeat Down's Web site (www.afrobeatdown.com) reveals a growing network of American Fela disciples, from collectives like Antibalas to the singer Wunmi." - Tamara Palmer , SF WEEKLY.

"Southern California's Afrobeat Down is known as its area's premier Afrobeat combo, one with an unabashed desire to re-create the hard-driving funky sound of its early-’70s inspirations." - San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Tracklist

01. Communicate

02. Lebanon

03. Lamb of th body

04. Dubversion

05. Gentleman (Live)

Adubiifa 67 - It´s a new day...

Information

Mr. Adubiifa was born in Gardena, California and raised in Pasadena, California. He has been involved with music since early childhood and played many styles of music in his youth. He received his degree in African American Studies in 1993 from Howard University in Washington DC. Mr. Adubiifa has worked hard on both coast to assist those who have fallen through the cracks of society obtain food, clothing and shelter. He currently works in Pasadena as a case manager at a homeless shelter.
His musical influences include the music of Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, The Meters, Poncho Sanchez, Miles Davis and The Crusaders (just to name a few). He notes that his biggest influence, comes from the Yoruba Spiritual path of Ifa and the peace and focus that Ifa gives his life.

His newest musical offering, “It’s A New Day…” is a beautiful mixture of Afro beat, Funk, Jazz and Latin rhythms and is designed to get the mind, body spirit dancing! Mr. Adubiifa believes that music is a powerful healing force in the universe and is essential for the positive spiritual advancement of wo/mankind.
So, stand up and enjoy the delightful sounds of Adubiifa 67’s “It’s A New Day…”!

Source


Interview


Where did Adubiifa 67 originate?

Adubiifa 67 got its start out of jam sessions that we used to have about once a month. We would get together barbeque, tell jokes, talk politics and social reform and play music. I would tape the jam sessions and I really began to dig the energy and fusion that was taking place. So, my twin brother (bittah munk) and I discussed the direction to go and then presented the idea to the musicians.

Who are the members and how were they selected? What was the process for selections and who spearheaded?

Most of the musicians are studio musicians coming from different styles of music and we all wanted to expand and try something new. I am very blessed with being able to work with such beautiful and talented people.

How long has Adubiifa 67 been together?

It all really started to jell and come together in the fall of 2004.

What is the goal of Adubiifa 67- political statements/ just plain good music/a release or outlet for you?

Musically the goal is to create beautiful grooves. The Meters are one of my biggest influences and I wanted to focus on heavy rhythms and not have too many sections with musicians soloing. Also, I am a follower of Ifa ( Yoruba spiritual belief system ) and I wanted to represent the culture through the music as a way of introduction to Africans in America.

Do you plan to continue to be primarily instrumental (or is that an assumption on my part)?

Well, I am currently in the process of developing the next full length album and it will feature more vocal tracks from eclectic singers. It will be a mixture of sample based music and live instruments. We should begin production early 2007 if everything falls into place. Also, Milford B. Keyes (president of Golden Scarab Music) and my brother are trying to convince me to put out another instrumental album. But we'll see what the future has in store.

How has the group changed/developed since it's creation?

The group will always be in a state of change and growth. Because of the busy schedule of most of the musicians that I recorded with on 'It's A New Day', it is hard to set any concrete schedule. I usually just grab who is in town and available to record. It is a natural process for me to keep the creative juices flowing.

What is your muse, what inspires you?

I gather inspiration from a lot of different things: Ifa, my wife, my children, friends, futbol, nature, books, politics… basically life and the life that I'm living.

How many albums have been created?

So far we have enough music for two more albums. If they ever see the light of day is another question.

Themes of those albums are...

Hope, peace, happiness and heavy funkiness!

Future albums/music will look and sound like...

I may do an album with my brother in the near future. But you never know with that guy because he stays busy doing scores for movies, producing and working on his own music. If it wasn't for him I would not have had the courage to strike out and follow my musical visions. He is definitely one of my favorite producer's of all time.

Guest artists? Upcoming collaborations?

Very top secret… for now…stay (in)tuned and in the light…

Source




Tracklist

01. Ojo Aiku 1:56
02. Labalaba Nfo 5:36
03. Dide! Dide! Dide! 1:19
04. Dew Drops At Dawn 5:41
05. Isokan 1:13
06. Wylde Flower 3:51
07. The Next Step 2:57
08. Akuku 1:12
09. Today Is the Day 5:39
10. Voices in the Mist 1:27
11. Eternal Blossom 5:33
12. Omo Oduduwa 3:16
13. Lila Orun

Rhythm Funk Masters - Afro-American-Arctic

Information

Strangely enough, an afro-beat band from Finland!! Why not? Rhythm Funk Masters’ music isn’t actually pure afro-beat, but it also combines elements from different music styles like jazz, funk and rock to it. Each band member brings in his own character. To say it in a simple way, we play instrumental afro-beat, funk and jazz music with a strong Scandinavian flavour. Rhythm Funk Masters was formed in 2003 in Helsinki. We’ve had some gigs every now and then, but now we’re going to get more active that we got our first album out! Afro-American-Arctic is recently released in Finland and Japan.

Source

A great little combo from funky Finland -- one who mix in a fair bit of Afro Funk influences with their deeper funk groove! And if you think we used the word "funk" too much in that last sentence, don't worry, it's warranted -- as these guys are totally on the groove, with a fierce instrumental approach that's really really wonderful! The combo's neither a straight retro funk group, nor a copycat of Fela modes from earlier years -- and there's a warmer, jazzy sensibility that touches the best tracks here -- one that creates some freely flowing lines on tenor, soprano sax, flute, and trumpet -- all supported by some very heavy keyboards, guitar, and percussion! Tracks include "Enormous Introduction", "Gogo", "Nudinuff", "Latin Bantu Lounge", "Non Compos Mentis", "Radio Bembe", "Arctic Rainforest", and "Highway".

Source

Rhythm Funk Masters released their debut album, Afro-American-Arctic, last year. The title represents the content pretty well. It's a solid blend of afrobeat, funk and some nordic elements. I've been meaning to buy this one for a long time but since it's released only as a CD and I rarely browse through the CD shelves I have kind of forgot to purchase it. Well, today I found it from my local record stores.

I'm actually a bit surprised and disappointed that this record has been slept on by many people meanwhile some mediocre retroactive afrofunk bands have gotten a lot of hype. And these guys are anything but mediocre when it comes to hard-hitting instrumental afrobeat/funk/jazz. They have definitely listened their Fela Kuti records and blaxploitation soundtracks but they aren't simply copying or imitating those sounds. For me the highlights of the album are Nudinuff, a pure afrobeat groover and Bushman, a great tune that's a bit more on the jazzier side like Donny Hathaway's The Ghetto.

Source




Tracklist

01. Enormous Introduction
02. Gogo
03. Nudinuff
04. Non Compos Mentis
05. Radio Bembe
06. Latin Bantu Lounge
07. Bushman
08. Frantic Activity
09. Highway
10. Arctic Rainforest

The Afrobeat Diaries ... by allaboutjazz.com (Pt.II)

THANK YOU AGAIN Michael Ricci and Chris May from allaboutjazz.com

The Afrobeat Diaries, Part 2

Source (direct link to allaboutjazz.com article)

Fela Anikulapo Kuti and the sack of Kalakuta Republic

Part 1 of the Afrobeat Diaries looked at the circumstances surrounding Fela Kuti's 1974 album Alagbon Close (Jofabro), the first of Kuti's discs so explicitly to expose the brutality and injustice then, as now, rampant among the Nigerian police and judiciary.

Part 2 first relates the consequences of that brave album, which began with a police attack on Kuti's self-declared "Kalakuta Republic"—the live/work compound he'd established for himself and Africa 70—on 23 November, 1974. The attack was chronicled on the album Kalakuta Show (EMI Nigeria).

Following the release of Zombie (Phonogram Nigeria), an incendiary lampoon of the military, the Nigerian army staged an even bigger and more savage assault on 18 February 1977, during which Kalakuta was burnt to the ground and its occupants beaten, or raped, or both.

Although the police attack on Kalakuta in November 1974 was on a smaller scale than the army's attack in February 1977, it was a gruesome affair. On the pretext of searching for a young woman who it was alleged Kuti had abducted, the police staged a surprise assault on Kalakuta.

After breaking down the fence which surrounded the compound and throwing teargas canisters into its buildings, they set about anyone they could lay their hands on. Kuti was so badly beaten that he spent the next three days under police guard in hospital, no visitors, and especially no photographers, allowed, before his lawyer succeeded in getting him released on bail. Following a menacing introduction by the Africa 70 horns, a tough tenor saxophone solo from Kuti, and underpinned throughout by insistent drums and shekere, the title track on Kalakuta Show relates the story.

Wrasse Records' reissue of Kalakuta Show includes another top drawer album, Ikoyi Blindness (African Music International), released a few months later. On Ikoyi, Kuti celebrated his change of middle name from Ransome, which he now considered a slave name, to Anikulapo, and Africa 70's rebirth as Afrika 70. The cover showed Ransome crossed out, with Anikulapo added in above it (see next page).

Kuti's full name now meant "He Who Emanates Greatness" (Fela), "Having Control Over Death" (Anikulapo), "Death Cannot Be Caused By Human Entity" (Kuti).

It was a name-of-power, and Kuti was going to need all of it on 18 February, 1977.

The fury stirred up among the Nigerian authorities by Alagbon Close, and then by Kalakuta Show, was as nothing compared to the reprisals conducted against Kuti and his band following the 1976 album, Zombie.

On the title track, over urgent, quick-march accompaniment from Afrika 70, Kuti and his backup singers ridicule the mindset of the Nigerian army. "Attention! Quick march! Slow march! Salute!" Kuti sang, "Fall in! Fall out! Fall down! Go and kill! Go and die! Go and quench!" Each phrase is followed by the women singers' taunting response, "Zombie!"

For the army, Kuti's lyrics were the final insult, a direct attack on its pride and standing, made more wounding by the fact that the collective alpha males were being made to look foolish, in part, by women. The army's response was terrible...

On 18 February, 1977, around 1,000 soldiers, most of them armed, swooped on Kalakuta. They cordoned off the surrounding area, broke down the wire fence around the community's buildings, and kicked their way into the central structure. Occupants were stripped and beaten; men had their testicles beaten with batons; women had their nipples smashed with stones. Kuti himself was beaten close to death, sustaining a fractured skull and several broken bones. His mother, then aged 77, was thrown from a first floor window, fracturing a leg and suffering deep trauma. The army then set fire to the compound and prevented the fire brigade reaching the area. The ensuing blaze gutted the premises, destroying six Afrika 70 vehicles, all Kuti's master tapes and band equipment, a four-track recording studio, all the community members' belongings and, for good measure, the free medical clinic run by Kuti's brother, Dr Beko Kuti (also severely beaten in the attack). The first journalists to arrive on the scene were assaulted by soldiers. Inquisitive passers-by were similarly set upon. The army didn't want any witnesses.

Although Kuti won the war of words which followed, he sensibly decided to leave Nigeria for a while, and in October went into voluntary exile in neighbouring Ghana. But his political stance didn't endear itself to the Ghanaian authorities either—particularly when protesting students starting shouting "Zombie!" at police and soldiers in the streets—and Kuti was deported back to Nigeria after a few turbulent months.

In February 1978, to mark the anniversary of the previous year's pillage, and to affirm his embrace of African culture, Kuti married 27 women simultaneously in a traditional ceremony. After his mother died a few months later, Kuti and Afrika 70 recorded Coffin For Head Of State (Kalakuta Records), which explicitly blamed the Nigerian head of state, General Olusegun Obasanjo, for her death. The day before Obasanjo retired from office for the first time, on 1 October, 1979, Kuti and his friends and family marked the occasion by depositing his mother's coffin at the gate of Obasanjo's residence in Dodan barracks. If the military thought they could silence Kuti, short of killing him, they were very wrong, as demonstrated by Coffin and other courageous albums including Unknown Soldier (Phonodisk), Sorrow Tears And Blood, Vagabonds In Power and Authority Stealing (all Kalakuta Records).

Wrasse Records' reissue of Zombie includes two valuable, previously unreleased tracks, "Observation Is No Crime" and "Mistake." The second of these, a medium-paced, conga-rich, 15 minute tour de force by Afrika 70, with excellent solos by trumpeter Tunde Williams and Kuti, on saxophone, was recorded live at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1978. Incredibly, it is accompanied throughout by booing and cat-calls from the audience, a large number of whom appear to have gone along only to attack Kuti for his perceived attitude to women. But Kuti and Afrika 70 had faced much worse than this the previous year, and continue cooking up a storm, unfazed.


Kalakuta Show




Tracks: Kalakuta Show; Don't Make Garan Garan.

Personnel: Personnel: Fela Ransome Kuti: tenor and alto saxophone, keyboards, vocals; Tony Allen: drums, leader; Lekan Animashaun: baritone saxophone; Christopher Uwaifor: tenor saxophone; Tunde Williams: trumpet; Ukem Stephen: second trumpet; Ogene Kologbo: tenor guitar; Leke Benson: rhythm guitar; Franco Aboddy: bass guitar; Henry Kofi: first conga; Nicholas Addo: second conga; Isaac Olaleye: maracas; James Abayomi: sticks; Tejumade Adebyi, Bernadette Oghomienor, Regina Ousfor, Felicia Idomi, Suru, Shade Komolafe: vocal chorus.


Ikoyi Blindness



Tracks: Ikoyi Blindness; Gba Mi Leti N'Dolowo.

Personnel: Fela Anikulapo Kuti: tenor and alto saxophone, keyboards, vocals; Tony Allen: drums, leader; Lekan Animashaun: baritone saxophone; Tunde Williams: trumpet; Ukem Stephen: second trumpet; Clifford Itoje: rhythm guitar; Leke Benson: tenor guitar; Franco Aboddy: bass guitar; Henry Kofi: first conga; Nicholas Addo: second conga; Sina Abiodun: third conga; Isaac Olaleye: maracas; James Abayomi: sticks; Tejumade Adebyi, Bernadette Oghomienor, Regina Ousfor, Folake Oladjo, Folake Olatunde, Bola Balogun, Rita Eweka, Shade Komolafe: vocal chorus.


Zombie



Tracks: Zombie; Mister Follow Follow; Observation No Crime (previously unreleased); Mistake (previously unreleased).

Personnel: Fela Anikulapo Kuti: tenor and alto saxophone, keyboards, vocals; Tony Allen: drums, leader; Lekan Animashaun: baritone saxophone; Tunde Williams: trumpet; Ukem Stephen: second trumpet; Leke Benson: first guitar; Olawe Osemi: second guitar; Nweke Atifon: bass guitar; Henry Kofi: first conga; Nicholas Addo: second conga; Sina Abiodun: third conga; Isaac Olaleye: maracas; James Abayomi: sticks; Tejumade Adebyi, Bernadette Oghomienor, Folake Oladjo, Folake Olatunde, Bola Balogun, Shade Komolafe: vocal chorus.

Source and thanx!

Oneness Of Juju - African Rhythms

Reviews

A landmark of Afro-centric jazz in the 70s -- and the first album by this famous underground collective! Oneness of Juju were a Washington DC-based group that grew out of the ashes of the Juju avant jazz ensemble -- formed in the culturally rich African-American community of DC in the 70s, with spiritual and political aspirations that stretched far beyond the average funky combo. This first album is a masterful blend of percussion, jazz, and a slight bit of funk -- alternating vocal tracks with harder-hitting jazz instrumentals, all held together under the leadership of sax player Plunky Nakabinde. The album's one of the greatest independent soul jazz albums of the 70s -- and it's filled with great tracks, such as the breakbeat classic "African Rhythms" and "Liberation Dues". Other titles include "Kazi", "Funky Wood", "Don't Give Up", "Poo Too", and "Incognito".

Source

"One of the most groundbreaking bands of their time. From early avant-garde jazz work on the Strata East label to their later fusions of Afrobeat, funk and spiritual jazz, Oneness stand as a huge influence for today's jazz scene. Released in 1976, the African Rhythms album is Oneness Of Juju's masterpiece. Bandleader J. Plunky Branch had moved back to his hometown of Richmond, Virginia from New York and introduced R&B, funk and African percussion into his music to appeal to the local market. Topped by the soaring vocals of Jackie Holoman-Lewis, the Oneness sound became a tight, supremely soulful outfit. Although it sold to the local market, African Rhythms was revived in the late '80s when rare groove fever hit the UK. Ever since, the album has been an essential part of any soul and funk DJ's collection."

Source

trut continue their re-issue program of the '70s catalogue with Oneness Of Juju, one of the most groundbreaking bands of their time. From early avant-garde jazz work on the Strata East label to their later fusions of Afrobeat, funk and spritual jazz, Oneness stand as a huge influence for today's jazz scene. Released in 1976, The African Rhythms album is Oneness Of Juju's masterpieces. Bandleader J. Plunky Branch had moved back to his hometown of Richmond, Virginia from New York and introduced R&B, funk and African percussion into his music to appeal to the local market. Topped by the soaring vocals of Jackie Holoman-Lewis, the Oneness sound became a tight, supremely soulful outfit. Includes the bonus tracks 'Liberation Dues' (instrumental) & 'African Rhythms' (45 version).

Source




Tracklist

01. African Rhythms (7:17)
02. Kazi (4:20)
03. Funky Wood (1:13)
04. Tarishi (3:55)
05. Mashariki (3:22)
06. Chants (1:14)
07. Don't Give Up (5:41)
08. Incognito (8:10)
09. Poo Too (3:43)
10. Liberation Dues (4:34)
11. Liberation Dues (Instrumental) (8:40)
12. African Rhythms (45 Version) (3:40)