Fela Kuti’s Mentor – Sandra Smith Isadore

Sandra Smith Isadore

I remember reading somewhere where Fela said the two most important influences in his life were his mama and Sandra Smith. She opened his mind and exposed him to new ideas, thoughts and music. I know many of y’all have never heard of Ms. Sandra. So I thought I would present her to you all with a few of Sandra and Fela’s words from Michael Veal’s book on Fela. I understand that the women in Fela’s group hated her and made her time on the road with Fela difficult. I guess she was more than a piece of tail and that did not sit well with them.

It is fascinating that I had never heard of Fela before I began associating with Naijas. I know 99 percent of AAs have never heard of him either. It is only the Pan African types and folks like me who know him by way of associations. Enjoy!

Words of Fela concerning Malcolm X:

“This book, I couldn’t put it down: The Autobiography of Malcolm X….This man was talking about the history of Africa, talking about the white man….I never read a book like that before in my life…..I said, ‘This man is a man!’ I wanted to be like Malcolm X….I was so unhappy that this man was killed. Everything about Africa started coming back to me.”

Words of Fela about Sandra Smith Isadore – his mentor. Fela said the two most important people in his life that influenced him the most were his mama and Sandra.

His words:

“Sandra gave me the education I wanted to know. She was the one who opened my eyes….For the first time I heard things I’d never heard before about Africa! Sandra was my adviser. She talked to me about politics, history. She taught me what she knew and what she knew was enough for me to start on.”

During the course of their relationship, Smith introduced Fela to a number of political and musical ideas that profoundly reshaped both his worldview and his musical approach. Through her, Fela became familiar with the political ideas and rhetoric of African-American political and cultural figures such as the Black Panthers, Kwame Toure (Stokely Carmicheal), Angela David, Martin Luther King, Elijah Muhammad, Jessie Jackson, and Malcom X.

Sandra Smith:

“At that point in my life, I was an extremely passionate person—especially when it came to blackness, Africa, and Malcolm X, things like that. But the Fela that I met was not into Africa as a concept at all. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, that was something he was learning from me as we went along. It was like I was turning him on to Africa. Later he went to the other extreme, where everything about Africa was good, even the bad was good.”

Fela:

“It’s crazy; in the States people think the black power movement drew inspiration from Africa. All these Americans come over here looking for awareness. They don’t realize they’re the one who’ve got it over there. Why, we were even ashamed to go around in national dress until we saw pictures of blacks wearing dashikis on 125th street.”

Through Sandra, the --- now renamed “Nigeria 70” – was finally able to secure a regular gig at a Hollywood club called Citadel d’Haiti. Although unknown, the Nigeria 70 quickly became popular and built a steady audience. Meanwhile, the influence of new ideas from Fela’s intense discussions with Sandra – combined with his continued desire for success—forced him to reexamine a number of his own fundamental ideas and ultimately to formulate a new conceptual framework encompassing music, culture, and ideology.

Fela words to Sandra:

“One day I sat down at the piano in Sandra’s house. I said to Sandra: ‘Do you know what? I’ve just been fooling around. I haven’t been playing African music. So now I want to try to write African music… for the first time.’ …I went to play this new number. I didn’t know how the crowd would take the sound, you know. I just started. The club owner was behind the bar and he almost jumped over it. ….’ Fela, where did you get this ****ing tune from? Whaaaaat!’ The whole club started jumping and everybody started dancing. I knew then I’d found the thing, man. To me, it was the first African tune I’d written ’til then.”

The new song, which he titled “My Lady’s Frustration,” was a homage to Sandra and an acknowledgment of the strain his career troubles placed on their relationship. My Lady’s Frustration is neither Fela’s old highlife-jazz or pure rhythm-and –blues. Rather it is a hybrid style in which elements from both genres are arranged in a mutually complimentary way.

Originally published in "Fela: The Life and Times of a Musical Icon" by Micheal Veal

Article published by nigeriavillagesquare.com

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

by Chris May, allaboutjazz.com

---

Part 17 - Dele Sosimi: Identity

Keyboard player and singer Dele Sosimi, a member of Fela Kuti's Egypt 80 from 1979-86 and Femi Kuti's Positive Force from 1986-94, returned to London, where he was born in 1963, in 1995. A decade and a half later, he leads three bands in the city: the acoustic Afrobeat Trio with bassist Femi Elias and drummer Kunle Olofinjana, the Gbedu septet (which adds horns to the trio's lineup), and the 10-15 piece Afrobeat Orchestra (more horns, guitars and backing vocalists). Since autumn 2010, Sosimi has acted as music consultant to the London production of the Broadway musical Fela!, of whose stage band he is a key member. Sosimi also organises London's bi-monthly Afrobeat Vibration all-nighters, which present the Orchestra, guest musicians and Afrobeat DJs, and works as an educator with the Afrobeat Foundation, which he founded.

Along with Afrika 70's drummer, the now Paris-based Tony Allen, with whom Sosimi has regularly performed, and Fela Kuti's sons Femi and Seun, Sosimi has worked tirelessly to nurture and develop Afrobeat. As the fliers for Afrobeat Vibration events have it: "Afrobeat is more than a music. It's a movement." This column officially declares Sosimi a Hero of Afrobeat.

Sosimi has made two albums with the Afrobeat Orchestra: Turbulent Times (Eko Records, 2002)—reviewed in Part 16 of Afrobeat Diaries—and Identity. Both are outstanding, rooted in Fela Kuti's original blueprint but not constrained by it, and both deserve far wider currency than they have enjoyed so far.

Turbulent Times was a mostly instrumental disc which featured Sosimi's jazz chops along with those of horn players Byron Wallen (trumpet, flugelhorn), Justin Thurgur (trombone), Linus Bewley (tenor saxophone) and Tony Kofi (baritone saxophone). On Identity, Sosimi's keyboards share the spotlight with his vocals, while the arrangements continue to enrich the basic Afrobeat paradigm with infusions of jazz, Latin, traces of highlife, and funk (given the prominence of Elias' serpentine electric bass, more Bootsy Collins' Rubber Band than James Brown's Famous Flames, an early inspiration of Fela Kuti and with whom, of course, Collins played before going solo). Sosimi's horn arrangements, intricate yet unfailingly visceral, which were such a delight on Turbulent Times, are here in all their glory again. Sosimi, Elias, Thurgur, guitarist Kunle Olasoju and saxophonists Eric Rohner (tenor) and Rob Leake (mainly baritone) are the chief soloists.

Sosimi's vocals, only briefly exercised on Turbulent Times, are a revelation, like Seun's possessing an enviable degree of Fela's authority; and the lyrics (most of the tunes were co-written with Elias) stay close to Afrobeat's tradition of social commentary, sung in a mixture of Yoruba, English and Broken English. Tempos and atmospheres are mostly up, and track playing times are mainly around 10 minutes. There are two instrumentals: the urgent "Ori Oka" and the pretty, Latinesque "I Don Waka" (at 4:48 the shortest track).

Following its run at London's National Theatre, Fela! moves to Sadler's Wells for a six week season in summer 2011. Sosimi will doubtless continue to drive the stage band. His third solo album is now long overdue, and it is to be hoped that the success of Fela! will assist its recording and release without too much further delay.

Brazilian Afrobeat: Abayomy Afrobeat Orquestra

Information from their myspace page:

ABAYOMY is an Ioruba word that means "happy meeting", and we strongly believe there's no better expression to translate the essence of the ABAYOMY AFROBEAT ORCHESTRA. The group was created in the same day of Fela Kuti's birthday, especially for the first edition in Rio de Janeiro of the FELA DAY -- an international event that celebrates the birth of the Nigerian creator of Afrobeat. Due to the quality of the happy meeting with friends and admirers of Fela Kuti, the group felt the necessity to go on with the Orchestra, in order to take advantage of the presence of this musical legacy in the work of many Brazilian artists, which is, at the same time, rarely explored. The ABAYOMY ORCHESTRA is formed by 13 musicians that move Rio de Janeiro's scene and have, as a creative basis, different styles of music. Mônica Ávila (Alto Sax), Fábio Lima (Tenor Sax), Thiago Queiroz (Bariton Sax) Leandro Joaquim (Thrumpet), Marco Serragrande (Trombone), Donatinho (Keyboard), Gustavo Benjão (Guitar), Victor Gottardi (Guitar), Pedro Dantas (Bass), Alexandre Garnizé (Percussion), Cláudio Fantinato (Percussion), Rodrigo Larosa (Percussion), Thomas Harres (Drums) use their Brazilian references and geniality with bright musical sounds, pressed by the afrobeat strenght with hypnotic and infinite grooves. In the musical list, besides their own compositions and covers of afrobeat classics, there are versions for the songs of artists such as Jorge Benjor, Marku Ribas, Antonio Carlos & Jocafi, among others directly inspired by African rhythmic sources. The show is a rich walk among these strong sounds. In this walk, the audience as well as the musicians of the ABAYOMY AFROBEAT ORCHESTRA create, through the music, a way to carry all of them to Africa...

abayomyorquestra

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

by Chris May, allaboutjazz.com

---

Part 16 - Dele Sosimi: Turbulent Times

Whatever you may think of musicals, and most people either love them or hate them, the New York and London productions of Fela! are to be welcomed. Both have been distinguished as much by their house bands as by their leading actors and dancers, and, as a result, both have done Fela Kuti's legacy proud—confirming, if confirmation was needed, the Afrobeat originator's enduring power to connect.

That in itself is something to celebrate. And the shows have also boosted the profiles of the house bands themselves. The New York lineup is built around Brooklyn's decade-old Afrobeat ensemble, Antibalas—and has also included the outstanding percussionist Yoshiro Takemasa, from another fine Brooklyn group, Akoya Afrobeat—and in late 2010, Ropeadope reissued Antibalas' 2004 album, Who Is This America?. The show's London lineup includes ex-Egypt 80 keyboardist Dele Sosimi in a pivotal role (he's also music consultant to the production), and while we wait for the next Sosimi album, anyone who's yet to check out his 2002 own-name debut, the magnificent Turbulent Times, is in for a treat.

First, a little background. When he was only 16 years old, Sosimi joined Egypt 80, later becoming its music director. He was part of the band which produced the late masterpiece Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense (Wrasse, 1986), produced by Wally Badarou, which successfully reimagined the role of keyboards in Afrobeat. Other important albums featuring Sosimi include I.T.T. (International Thief Thief) (1979), Authority Stealing (1980), Original Sufferhead (1982), Perambulator (1983) and Army Arrangement (1985). He was a member of Femi Kuti's Positive Force for over ten years, before moving to London in the mid-1990s.

The with-vocals but essentially instrumental Turbulent Times picks up where Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense left off, foregrounding keyboards still further, and to brilliant effect. The cracking ten-piece band, which includes some of London's top Afrobeat musicians along with some of its best jazz players, nails all the key Afrobeat essentials—vocal and instrumental call and response, rich horn arrangements, socio-political engagement, tenor guitar licks, signature rhythms—while also nudging them into then-new territory. Each of the six tunes serves as a platform for the band's soloists: trumpeter/flugelhornist Byron Wallen) (two solos), baritone saxophonist Tony Kofi (two), tenor saxophonist Linus Bewley (one), trombonist Justin Thurgur (also in the London Fela! lineup, one), guitarist Kunle Olasoju (one), bassist Femi Elias (one) and drummer Feyi Akinwunmi (one). Sosimi himself solos, in a winningly melodic, jazz-inflected style, on most tracks (and sings, briefly but convincingly, on four of them). The combination of a red hot band, inventive arrangements rooted in the tradition but of their own time, and singular soloists given their heads is simply outstanding.

Turbulent Times is a little masterpiece, and it deserves—and in the Fela! slipstream may actually receive—a lot more attention in 2011 than it got first time around. It's an album that should be in any serious Afrobeat collection.

Another Afrobeat crusader enjoying the spillage of limelight from Fela! is artist (and, back in the day, Young African Pioneer) Ghariokwu Lemi, who designed many of Afrika 70's most striking record sleeves. Given complete creative license by Kuti, Lemi's work did more than complement the music, becoming an Afrobeat phenomenon in itself. Top galleries around the world are now interested in showing Lemi's work and a book is in the offing. Turbulent Times features a Lemi front cover (as did Akoya's 2008 Afrobomb album, President Dey Pass). There's talk of Lemi designing the cover for Seun Kuti's next album, due later in 2011, and another for Chicago Afrobeat Project.

There are plenty of well-produced concert clips of Sosimi viewable on YouTube, but the shaky, low-fi footage below, shot at one of Sosimi's bimonthly Afrobeat Vibration nights—a highlight of the London Afrobeat scene—conveys the spirit of the music well.

From Benin: Picoby Band D'Abomey

The following article of Picoby Band D'Abomey was orginally published by radiodiffusion.wordpress.com:

Orchestre Picoby-Band were Abomey, which was the former capitol of the kingdom of Dahomey, which is now known as Benin.

Dahomey was under French rule until the country gained it’s independence in 1960. For the next 12 years, ethnic strife contributed to a period of turbulence. There were several coups and regime changes, with three main figures dominating – Sourou Apithy, Hubert Maga, and Justin Ahomadegbé – each of them representing a different area of the country. These three agreed to form a presidential council after violence had marred the 1970 elections. In 1972, a military coup led by Mathieu Kérékou overthrew the council. He established a Marxist government under the control of Military Council of the Revolution (CNR), and the country was renamed to the People’s Republic of Benin in 1975.

As for Orchestre Picoby-Band… This single was the first of three that they released in sequence on L.A. Aux Ecoutes. And I have read that they also released two other singles on the Albarika Store label. All of the songs on the L.A. Aux Ecoutes singles are credited to Avolonto Honore, who also wrote songs for fellow countymen El Rego and Orchestre Poly-Rhytmo, as well as recording under his own name.

On the African Scream Contest compilation, released by on Analog Africa, Samy Ben Redjeb interviewed Nicolas Gomez, who the band leader and guitarist of the Picoby-Band

The band formed in 1953. They were looking for a lead guitarist so I joined them in 1955. The first few years we really struggled, mostly because we had really crappy equipment! That changed radically in 1980. We had written to the cultural centre in Abomey asking for financial help; so did Renova Band, another great group from this town. The cultural centre didn’t have enough cash to support both groups so they decided to organize a competition, with the winner receiving 500.000 CPA. We won and with the cash we bought all kinds of instruments! We then participated in first national music festival, in 1965. The government would invite one band from each, (there were six states at the time). We represented Le Zou. At the end we came in third. La Sondas took first, followed by Annassoua Jazz.

In 1976 we participated in, the Festival des Arts et des Cultures. For that festival we changed our name to Echos du Zou. Super Borgou de Parakou won. We took second place with a traditional track containing revolutionary lyrics called Mi So Gbe. Although Orchestre PoIy-Rythmo was the better band, they made a few mistakes during that contest. The whole band arrived on their brand new motorbikes. Remember it was in 1976, we had the revolution going on here, and Benin was a socialist country at that time. I guess the jury didn’t like those bikes too much. Also. Poly-Rythmo were supposed to compose a song based on the traditional rhythms from their region, but they just played those crazy Jerks.

The two winners of that ‘76 contest, Super Borgou and us, were both going to represent Benin at Festac 77 in Lagos. Unfortunately our equipment was far too weak for such an important show, so we decided to team up with Poly-Rythmo – they had all those fancy Marshall and Orange amps. So we combined the three bands and became L’Orchesrte National du Benin. Mêlomê Clément was President de l’orchesrtre and Moussa Mama Djima was Chef d’orchesrtre. We came in second.

---

Information by orogod.blogspot.com:

Orchestra Picoby Band has been already introduced on Oro here, but it deserves a more complete post. The band is from Abomey and was found in 1953. It is one of the oldest band from Benin with Renova Band, also from Abomey or Super Star de Ouidah. Those three bands only recorded EP's. Picoby Band recorded at least seven 7-inches singles. Here are four of them. Most of the tracks were afro-beat tunes recorded on Lawani Affisoulayi's label Aux Ecoutes and composed by they great Honore Avolonto. It was around 1970.

On the first record, "Dieu Merci" ("Thank's God") is a very nice soukous tune and "Honton Ve Zoun" a powerful jerk, both composed by Honore Avolonto.

Second record is also composed by Honore Avolonto. "Mi Hon Noun Gbeto" is an excellent pachanga with very good congas sound recording. "Ye Houe Deou" is another jerk tune.

On the third record Honore Avolonto composed "Vikou..." which is called soukous but it does not sound like. "Jo Ahi Nou Se" is a great Afro-Beat tune composed by Sanoussi Mouminou but sang by Avolonto.

Finally, the fourth record has been recorded on Albarika Store's label and composed by Sanoussi Mouminou. The single "Mi Ma Kpe Dji" is a great afro-beat tune sang by Avolonto. "Lidia" is a nice and cool Highlife tune sang by an anonymous singer. I think that this record was released after 1970.

New album: Ebo Taylor - Life Stories

Information by Strut Records

ollowing his recent studio album with Afrobeat Academy, ’Love And Death’, his first international release, Ghanaian highlife guitar legend Ebo Taylor teams up again with Strut for a long overdue definitive compilation of his seminal 1970s recordings, ‘Life Stories’.

During Ghana’s highlife explosion during the 1950s and ‘60s following wartime highlife pioneers like E.T. Mensah, Ebo Taylor made his name as a prolific composer, arranger and frontman leading two of Ghana’s greatest big bands - Stargazers and Broadway Dance Band. Moving to London to study music in 1962 alongside West African luminaries like Fela Kuti and Peter King, Taylor formed the Black Star Highlife Band and began incorporating jazz elements into traditional highlife forms.

Returning to Ghana, Taylor became an in-house arranger and producer for Dick Essilfie-Bondzie’s Essiebons label, working with other major Ghanaian stars like C.K. Mann and Pat Thomas. Through the ’70s, he then recorded a number of solo projects, exploring unique fusions and borrowing elements from regional Ghanaian folk music, Afrobeat, jazz, soul and funk.

This compilation revisits this heyday of Taylor’s work, focusing on his solo albums and some of his lesser known side projects including the dynamite Apagya Show Band and short-lived Taylor-led combos Assase Ase, Super Sounds Namba and The Pelikans. The selection also touches on his writing and production work for C.K. Mann and a collaboration recording with fellow member of early ‘70s nightclub band Blue Monks, Pat Thomas.

Tracks include the anthemic ’Heaven’, sampled by Usher on his hit with Ludacris, ’She Don’t Know’, the original version of the poignant ’Love And Death’ and the rare 15-minute nugget, ’Aba Yaa’. The package features rare photos, original album artwork and sleeve notes by Soundway Records’ Miles Cleret.

---

An introduction by Marc Gabriel Amigone (afrobeatblog.blogspot.com)

As I've said before, Ebo Taylor is one of the funkiest people to ever walk the earth. Life Stories, his second collaboration with Strut Records set to be released April 11, 2011, is a retrospective compilation showcasing his work with several ensembles throughout his career. Any lover of African funk has to take notice of Ebo Taylor. His ability as a composer and arranger put him in an elite class of musicians and allowed for him to collaborate with some of the best musicians in West Africa throughout the 1960's and 70's.

Taylor released his first internationally distributed studio album, Love and Death, on Strut late last year. Life Stories represents his songwriting and arranging work with several different artists and ensembles. Taylor's ability to combine African rhythmic elements with the American funk aesthetic set him apart from other musicians of his generation. Talylor's signature wah-pedal infused guitar lines combined with inventive horn lines distinguished him as an arranger. Life Stories captures that signature style on several tracks throughout.

If you're serious about African funk or you simply have a passing interest, you should def check out this comp. To amass this much music in one place would have taken years of crate digging and several trips to Africa. Strut has done all the work, so take full advantage.

---

Review for "Love and death" from Marc Gabriel Amigone

Ebo Taylor is one of the funkiest people to ever walk the earth. Love and Death, his first internationally released studio album out October 24th on Strut Records, is a continuation of Taylor's already legendary legacy as a composer and performer of African music.

Starting in the late 1950's, Taylor was an extremely influential figure in the Ghanaian music scene. He composed, arranged and performed in several leading highlife bands such as the Stargazers and Broadway Dance Band. He traveled to London with his own ensemble in 1962, The Black Star Highlife Band sponsored by the Ghanaian High Commission. It was in London that he collaborated and experimented with other African musicians such as Fela Anikulapo Kuti, "I knew Fela very well. He was my friend.

Upon returning to Ghana, Taylor further cemented himself in the Accra music scene working as an in-house producer for the major record labels of the time such as Essiebons and Gapophone. He wrote for and recorded with other burgeoning stars like C.K. Mann and Pat Thomas. As his career continued to unfold, Taylor recorded several solo projects creating his own new sound. He melded elements of traditional Ghanaian music with afrobeat, jazz and funk, and recorded some of the most highly regarded Ghanaian funk music of the era.

As African funk music from the 1970's has become increasingly in demand over the last 5-10 years, Ebo Taylor's music has seen a resurgence in popularity appearing on compilations from Soundway Records and Analog Africa. His music has been sampled by contemporary hip-hop producers both in Africa and The United States. Taylor has always had an innate sense of how to emphasize certain Western elements in his music such as the wah-wah guitar pedal and JB's influenced horn lines to compliment the more pronounced African elements such as traditional African percussion and Ghanaian lyrics. Similar to Fela's afrobeat, his music was extremely funky while at the same time carrying a strong African persona.

Recorded with Berlin-based collective Afrobeat Academy, Love and Death is a conscious effort on the part of Taylor to advance the afrobeat movement: "For the new album, I wanted to advance the cause of Afrobeat music. Fela started it and we shouldn't just abandon it. We should push it so it is a standard form of music." Taylor accomplishes his goal and then some. Love and Death is an incredibly fluid album composed of eight tracks that attack from the first note and don't let up throughout. Tracks like "african woman," "victory," and "mizin" are all aggressive uptempo songs that use interlocking guitars parts, punchy horn lines, hard-driving drums and percussion to push the song forward.

Taylor's voice reveals the character and history of a 74-year old man. You can hear the experience and age as it cuts through the aggressive afrobeat soundscape. It's amazing to think that in a career filled with as much amazing music and as many prominent collaborations as Taylor's, Love and Death will be his first internationally distributed album.




Tracklist


01. Heaven - 6:06
02. Atwer Abroba - 8:12
03. Victory - 4:19
04. Ohiani Sua Efir - 4:02
05. Kwaku Ananse - 3:12
06. Peace On Earth - 7:44
07. Aba Yaa - 14:58
08. Ene Nyame 'A' Mensuro - 6:17
09. Tamfo Nyi Ekyir - 3:57
10. Love And Death - 8:18
11. Ohye Atar Gyan - 6:05
12. Yes Indeed - 4:54
13. Mumude - 3:03
14. What Is Life - 4:38
15. Etuei - 6:27
16. Egya Edu - 6:52

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

Source: allaboutjazz.com


Part 15 - Femi Kuti: Africa For Africa / Antibalas: Who Is This America?


Femi Kuti - Africa For Africa

Two decades and more down the line with his band, Positive Force, singer and multi-instrumentalist Femi Kuti gets better and better. His take on rhythm may not be the same as that of his father—and why should it be?—but in other respects Femi is keeping Fela's musical flame alive. Positive Force is a horns heavy, ass kicking little big band; Femi's use of call and response vocals is at least as sophisticated as his father's; and, perhaps most important of all, Femi is an uplifting lyricist not afraid to take on the same issues, and confront the same venal class of politicians, military and bureaucrats, as Fela.

Most of the tracks on Africa For Africa last between three and five minutes—short by the measure set down by Fela and not permitting the extended instrumental sections which were a feature of Afrika 70 and Egypt 80 albums. But every one of the 14 pieces, even the shortest, which runs to just a couple of verses, contains some of the same vivid lyric writing which distinguished Fela's songs.

Outstanding among them are "Nobody Beg You," "Make We Remember" and "Obasanjo Don Play You Wayo." On the first and third of these, Femi uses the vocal chorus not only to repeat and drive home his own lines but also, as Fela did on some of his greatest songs (unforgettably on "Zombie"), to itself move the plot on by delivering the punch line which the lead singer has set up. So, on "Obasanjo Don Play You Wayo," after Femi has castigated the Nigerian judicial system for its shameful, 40-year (and counting) failure to root out and punish political corruption, it is the chorus who lock the lyric down with the chant: "(you cannot jail) friend to the, brother to the, sister to the, father to the, mother to the, daughter to the, wife of the senator." And on "Nobody Beg You," after Femi has sung "nobody beg you to be public servant," it is the chorus who deliver: "na dem dey beg us to be public servant." The sense of togetherness and shared values which Fela fostered at Kalakuta Republic and the original Shrine club is in Femi's music, as it was in Fela's, reflected in microcosm in this symbiotic relationship between lead singer and chorus.

Femi is a catchy songwriter too, and strong melodic motifs populate his hooklines and arrangements; most of the tempos and atmospheres on Africa For Africa are fierce and assertive, but they are tempered by tunefulness. The horn arrangements are more global in outlook than those typically used by Fela, with more Caribbean and Latin traces; but like Fela's, they're rich, turbulent and propulsive, and nearly as important to each song as the vocal topline. Femi's rhythms too are more eclectic than his father's, including West African, Latin, funk and Caribbean patterns.

Ears so far attuned only to Fela's original Afrobeat may need minor recalibration for Femi's spin to take hold. Give it a chance, it's well worth it.

---

Antibalas - Who Is This America?

Brooklyn's superb Antibalas has been together for about a decade and long ago developed into an authentic Afrobeat outfit. Much of the success of the Broadway musical Fela! derives from Antibalas' performance and the in-the-tradition arrangements of its trombonist Aaron Johnson and trumpeter Jordan McLean, now released as Fela! Original Broadway Cast Recording.

Reissued (with a bonus track) to ride the Fela! wave, Who Is This America? was originally released in 2004, and six years later still sounds every bit as compelling. Antibalas doesn't just have the Afrobeat basics down—the exclamatory, jousting horns, the signature beats, the call and response vocals, the lyric trajectory—it also isn't afraid to take empathetic liberties with the style's codification. The result preserves Afrobeat's past glories while moving them forward.

It's a seamless affair, by no means episodic, but the album breaks down into three types of track. Extended lyrics are features of "Who Is This America Dem Speak Of Today?," "Big Man" and "Sister" (the shortest of these tracks lasts 07:55 minutes, the longest 19:14); horns and keyboards are the focus of "Pay Back Africa," "Indictment" and "Money Talks" (the bonus track), which between them include outstanding solos from Johnson, McLean, tenor saxophonist Stuart Bogie and baritone saxophonist Martin Perna; and on "Obanla'e" and "Elephant," percussionist Ernesto Abreu takes over lead vocals, weaving traditional Yoruba chants into Antibalas' 21st century mix.

In Lagos, Seun and Femi Kuti are moving things forward; in Brooklyn, Antibalas and Akoya Afrobeat are doing the same; Chicago, with Chicago Afrobeat Project, and London, with Soothsayers, when it's not in roots reggae mode, are not far behind; many other cities worldwide have emergent Afrobeat scenes. Fela! is being staged on Broadway and at London's Royal National Theatre. Things are looking good.


Source: allaboutjazz.com ... and THANX!!!