New Ebo Taylor Release "Appia Kwa Bridge"

By Robert Fox

Last year, Ghanain jazz-funk pioneer Ebo Taylor put out his first recording in more than 30 years, Love and Death, a remake of the1980 release "Conflict."  That was great news for afrobeat fans around the world, as Taylor was a key figure in the fervent West African music scene in the early 1970s.  Originally trained as a jazz musician, he was part of highlife bands the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band in the 1950s.  He led the Black Star Highlife Band in the 1960s before collaborating on some of the signature afrofunk tracks of the new era.  As a guitarist, composer, arranger, bandleader and producer he helped bridge the gap between traditional Ghanain forms, jazz and funk, working with Fela Kuti, the Apagaya Show Band, the Uhuru Dance Orchestra and others.

The Afrobeat Blog republished a recent interview with Taylor from the record collecting site Digging 4 Gold that includes this quote, on how Taylor and Fela came to view highlife as dated:

“We were, all the time, discussing ways to develop our African music to enable us to get global attention. The only way to do it was to get into funk or jazz… that’s what we were… we were, primarily, jazz musicians. In London, we use play jazz clubs. I used to jam with Fela… Any time we got together, the black musicians in London, we were thinking of home and how to develop our own things instead of playing jazz or instead of playing Highlife, which we thought was foxtrot or like quickstep.”

With Taylor's new release Appia Kwa Bridge from Strut Records, he has come full circle, and now leads a new generation of afrobeat musicians from Berlin-based Afrobeat Academy.  The result are some rich, pounding grooves that make your heart beat faster and your feet move quicker.  The recordings also feature the one and only Tony Allen in a guest spot on drums, as well as original Africa 70 guitarist Oghene Kologbo.

This is great stuff.  The recording is scheduled for release on March 19th, and there is a tour planned starting in May 2012.  You can listen to two of the new tracks on Strut's website (click on the playlist link).  Strut also offers up additional background info on the the recording:

“I wanted to go back to a highlife feeling with this album,” explains Ebo Taylor. “The songs are very personal and it is an important part of my music to keep alive many traditional Fante songs, war chants and children’s rhymes.”

‘Appia Kwa Bridge’, released this April, is a strident return from the Ghanaian highlife guitar legend. Featuring six new compositions, his sound is more dense and tightly locked than ever with Berlin-based musicians Afrobeat Academy, a rock solid unit since regular touring worldwide following his ‘Love And Death’ album in 2010, including a string of dates for WOMAD. Jochen Stroh works his analogue magic once more from his base at Berlin’s Lovelite Studios.

The album covers a variety of themes dear to Taylor. The title track references a small bridge in Ebo’s hometown of Saltpond on the Cape Coast: “it is a tiny bridge but a place known in the town where people meet, where lovers get together.” The firing, rousing ‘Ayesama’, first demo-ed during the ‘Love And Death’ sessions, is a Fante war cry, a taunt – “what’s your mother’s name?”; ‘Nsu Na Kwan’, based on a Fante proverb, asks “Which is older – the river or the old road” with the sub-text to respect your elders and the brilliant ‘Abonsam’ carries the message that Abonsam (The Devil) is responsible for evil in the world and that we should follow the Christian message.

Elsewhere, the album features a new version of highlife anthem, ‘Yaa Amponsah’, first recorded during the ‘20s by Jacob Sam’s Sam’s Trio before becoming a popular standard in Ghana, and a cover of an original track from Taylor’s time with Apagya Show Band during the ’70s, ‘Serwa Brakatu’, re-titled here as ‘Kruman Dey’. The closer, the acoustic ‘Barrima’, is a poignant tribute to Taylor’s first wife and one true love who sadly passed away during Summer 2011. “Ebo wrote the song following her passing and recorded this in one take during our last day in the studio,” reflects bandleader Ben Abarbanel-Wolff. “He was very emotional.”

Fela Soul

By Robert Fox

Fun recent mashup of Fela and classic hip hop innovators De La Soul by producer Amerigo Gazaway of Gummy Soul, who describes the project as follows:

What do you get when you put together afrobeat legend Fela Kuti and rap pioneers De La Soul? You get Fela Soul, a musical tapestry created by Gummy Soul artist Amerigo Gazaway. More than just a clever title, Fela Soul is an 8-track, 33 minute journey into the world of afrobeat rhythms, funky horn riffs,  and classic hip-hop gems. Using dozens of  hand-picked samples from the Nigerian instrumentalist and political figure Fela Kuti, and 8 carefully-chosen acapellas from the Native Tongue rap trio De La Soul, Amerigo seamlessly intertwines the two into something completely new and original.

NPR singled it out as one of the best recordings of 2011 from the independnt music publishing site Bandcamp:

Fela Soul is the sort of mash-up album that never gets tired. The concept is fresh and simple: Take the music of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti and marry it with the raps of De La Soul. Fela Soul is the work of Gummy Soul producer Amerigo Gazaway, who makes his ingredients sound as if they were born to be together. (There's also an instrumental version of the album that you can also download for free.) Nashville's Gummy Soul, a boutique soul and hip-hop label, was founded by Walter Clark and started as a radio show on Vanderbilt's WRVU.

All the tracks are available for legal streaming and downloading along with liner notes from the Gummy Soul Bandcamp site. Enjoy:

There's also a cool video to accompany the recordings:



Hat tip to Marc Gabriel Amigone of the always up-to-date Afrobeat Blog for the heads up.  

Best Fela Video: Live in Berlin 1978 DVD

by David McDavitt

Surfacing mysteriously after over 30 years, the video footage of Fela and African 70’s set at the Berlin Jazz Festival (Berliner Jazztage) in 1978 is a true gift to lovers of Fela and Afrobeat, marking the best quality video/audio and musical performance of Fela to date. Seek it on Youtube if you must, but true fans will want to obtain a DVD copy to witness this event in its full splendor uncompressed, large, and with full sonic spectrum (hook this puppy through your sound system). Plus you will see the songs unbroken, with Fela’s informative introductions:

DVD and double CD set:
Fela Kuti, Anthology vol.2 (2CD, plus DVD) , Wrasse 2010
**Import (Europe)- make sure your TV can play PAL


1978 was a year full of historically significant events in the turbulent life of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Fela was not performing locally, the Nigerian government had banned Fela shows for a year, and neighboring Ghana kicked him out after protestors adopted Fela’s “Zombie” in anti-government protests.

February, in anti-colonial cultural protest, he married 27 wives (his “Queens”) in Lagos. He and his republic staged a 78-day sit-in protest in the Decca Record company Lagos headquarters for breach of contract and royalty disagreements (Fela’s show in Berlin is the only reason they left). In April, Fela’s mother died of injuries she sustained during a government raid on Fela’s Kalakuta compound.

In November (or September according to some sources), Fela & Afrika 70 headlined the Berlin Jazz Festival, while back home in Nigeria, government forces demolished the Kalakuta compound. Shortly thereafter, Afrika 70 disbanded, after Fela’s longtime musical director/drummer Tony Allen quit, reportedly due to pay, autonomy, and respect issues (for example, Fela decided to use the Berlin Jazz money to fund his presidential campaign). Fela’s baritone saxophonist, Lenkan Animashaun (a.k.a. Baba Ani) assumed the duties of musical director of Fela's new Egypt 80 band.

Berlin Jazz 1978 was a landmark concert for Fela: a rare, high-quality, professionally recorded document of Afrika 70’s final show! The venue is in the round, and although there are few camera angles, close-ups and smart democratic focus on most band members is satisfying (though Allen is not covered quite as much as his importance commands). Songs are true Afrobeat length (approximately 15 minutes each). Solos are as strong as ever, this is Afrika 70 at their apex.

Musically, the band is tight, vocals are solidly accurate, and the groove is a stunning demonstration of the highest level of musicianship, control, and stage presence. The band is animated, engaging, and amusing (guitarists Kologbo & Shegun, and the percussionist Abayomi brothers are particularly entertaining). Dynamics are extreme and hits are thrillingly precise. The polyrhythmic percussion propels with bubbling tension and release, and contains the sonic interest of woody melodic gbedu (akuba).
In light of the band's brilliance and infectious energy, it is puzzling and vexing that the live audience does not react much. They do not stand, nor dance, mostly sitting watching, stroking their beards, exclaiming, "hmmm, indeed." Odd.

The video and audio quality is the best I have ever seen for a Fela concert. The mix is remarkable for the era and enormity of the band. The video is crisp and well lit, with white stage lights always on. Not particularly mood-inducing, but perfect to witness Afrika 70's band members playing, who are too often buried in the murky darkness. The band is perfectly tailored in bright yellow, with the chorus members donning complimentary purple. Fela is stunning in a yellow/dark blue brocaded jumpsuit.

Tony Allen plays an uncharacteristically large single-headed Rogers drum set, with dark Evans Hydraulic drumheads.



Quincy Joppes sums it up in his introduction: "We present to you today, the greatest thing that ever came out of Africa... Fela and the Afrika 70... an experience of real African music...you will see something very original politically, religiously, and musically.”

He introduces the members of Afrika 70:

Afrika 70 Band Personnel, 1978:
Fela Kuti- Hammond Organ/ percussion/ vocals
Tony Allen- Musical Director/Drum set
Lenkan Animashaun (Baba Ani)- Baritone Sax
Christopher Uwaifor- Tenor Sax
Ogene Kologbo- Tenor Guitar
Shegun (Leke Benson?)- Rhythm Guitar
Oye Shobowale- 1st Trumpet
Tunde (Baba Tunde) Williams- Trumpet.
Franco Aboddy- Bass Guitar
Henry “Ojo” Kofi- 1st Conga (Gbede)
Shina Abiodun- 2nd Conga
Addo Nettey- 3rd Conga
Ayola Abayomi- Sticks/Claves
Isaac Abayomi- Shekere

Chorus (unintroduced, but may include):
Bernadette Oghomienor- Chorus
Tejumade Adebiyi- Chorus
Sade Shehindemi- Chorus
Regina Osundor- Chorus
Felicia Idonije- Chorus
Suru Eriomila- Chorus


The songs on the Fela live in Berlin (1978) DVD :

1. V.I.P (Vagabonds In Power)
Fela introduces V.I.P., “Look at me as something new, something you have never seen before...99.9% of the information you get about Africa in wrong...V.I.P.means ‘Very Important Personality’...but you see, when these VIP get too rich, they do not want to see the ordinary man on the street who is poor.” Fela chastises audience members for talking while he is introducing the song.

2. Power Show
Introduction- “I am going to stand for presidency of my country next year... Somebody ask me, ‘how can a musician be a president’, and I ask him how can a lawyer be a politician?... The big man, like to use power to strike you down... the African concept of music, where jazz originated...” This performance is quite a rollicking rock version.

3. Pansa Pansa
Introduction- “You see when you are a revolutionary and you talk the truth... people will come and slap you down... then you talk again, they put you in jail... and when you are very strong, and you talk again, they may kill you, they may even burn your house down.... African people are afraid for life... they say, ‘do not talk again’.... but they no hear at all, they going to hear Pansa Pansa (more and more...) because the truth can never die”. Pansa Pansa is a wicked fast Afrobeat groove. The bass guitar is a little low in the mix here- crank your bass settings for maximum funk. Watch for the percussionist helping the guitarist adjust his settings mid song! Pansa Pansa recounts some of Fela’s revolutionary hits, then directs some audience participation. Look for Fela’s organ solo surrounded by his percussionists and guitarists striking photogenic poses around him.

4. Cross Examination of the African Colonial Soldier
Cross Examination imagines putting the "African colonial soldier" on trial (Nkruma as judge, Fela as prosecutor, JK Braimah as defense).

**Cross Examination contains extended masterful solo work by drummer Tony Allen- leading Fela’s wives/ dancers in provocative displays!

If you purchase the DVD, you get the bonus of 2 CD’s or Fela’s best:


CD Track list



CD1
1. Expensive Shit
2. He Miss Road
3. Everything Scatter
4. Ikoyi Blindness
5. Kalakuta Show
6. Na Poi (1975 Version)

CD2
1. Colonial Mentality
2. Zombie
3. Unknown Soldier
4. Coffin For Head Of State (Part 2)
5. Africa Centre Of The World

Get it!

Check out The Shrine's breakdown of Fela's DVD releases! (news, bios, shows...)

See FELA! The Musical (London) in Movie Theaters!

For those unfortunate souls who missed the run of “FELA! The Musical” on or off broadway, we have wonderful news: The London run of “FELA! The Musical” will broadcast via theaters , late January, 2011.

“NT Live performances are filmed at the National Theatre in high definition and broadcast via satellite to 300 cinemas and performing arts centres in 22 countries, live in Europe and some US cities, and time-delayed in countries further afield…
NT Live events are distributed outside the U.K. through New York-based BY Experience, Inc, the pioneer of global live "alternative content" digital cinema events. For more information visit www.byexperience.net
For a full list of participating locations and ticket information visit” HERE.

FELA on Broadway wins 3 Tony Awards

FELA on Broadway no get enemy. In fact it has the enthusiastic support of the popular masses, and now official recognition from the Tony Awards.

Best Choreography: Bill T. Jones
Best Costume Design: Marina Draghici
Best Sound Design: Robert Kaplowitz

Everybody say, "Yeah Yeah!"

“FELA! on Broadway” Original Cast Recording

By David McDavitt

The ultimate Fela tribute band (a.k.a. “FELA!” on Broadway) will release a CD June 8, 2010. Performed by members of Antibalas afrobeat band, with Sierra Leone’s Sahr Ngaujah on lead vocals this album is sure to be an afrobeat classic. Broadwayworld.com rates the forthcoming original cast recording of the afrobeat musical 9.5 out of 10 stars. Produced by Rob Sher (Follies and Gypsy), the Grammy nominated soundtrack is a combination of music and monologue.

TRACKS:
1. Everything Scatter
2. Yellow Fever
3. Trouble Sleep
4. Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense
5. Lover
6. Upside Down
7. Expensive Shit
8. I. T. T. / Pipeline
9. Water Get no Enemy / Egbe Mi O
10. Shuttering and Shmiling
11. Zombie
12. Na Poi
13. Sorrow and Tears and Blood
14. Dance of the Orishas
15. Shine
16. Coffin Head of State

BAND:
· Stuart Bogie—Tenor Saxophone
· Dylan Fusillo—Percussion
· Greg Gonzalez—Drums
· Alex Harding—Baritone Saxophone
· Jordan McLean—Trumpet
· Oren Bloedow—Guitar
· Ricardo Quinones—Guitar
· Yoshihiro Takemasa—Percussion
· Jeremy Wilms—Bass & Keys

VOCALS:
Sahr Ngaujah as Fela
Lilias White as Funmalayo,
Saycon Sengbloh as Sandra Izadore

Arrangements by Aaron Johnson and Antibalas.

Chopteeth and Funk Ark in Virginia!

Great show tonight at Jammin Java outside of Washington, DC in Vienna, VA: Chopteeth and Funk Ark. If you're in the area, hope you can make it!

Steve McQueen Fela Film in Production

By David McDavitt

Whoever thought theater would be the savior of Afrobeat music? 100-plus afrobeat bands have been pounding away in relative obscurity for the last 15 years or so, delighting only the privileged few with the secret knowledge of Baba Kuti’s unique groove. Then along comes the powerful Broadway play, “Fela!” attracting an impressive pop following and critical acclaim, educating thousands about Afrobeat and “Felasophy.” Awesome. It’s powerful when your girlfriend’s 64 year old mother asks you to borrow some Fela CD’s.

No doubt in great thanks to “Fela!” on Broadway’s success, now Afrobeat fans will be treated to another miracle, a Fela Hollywood film!

Focus Features has hired British director Steve McQueen (“Hunger”) to direct, ad co-write the script with the award-winning, Nigeria-born playwright Biyi Bandele (adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s, “Things Fall Apart”/ Shakespeare Theater Co.).

"Fela might be the most globally influential pop artist outside the Beatles in the last 50 years," Focus Features’ James Schamus told Variety.

Everybody say, “yeah yeah!”

Brooklyn Afrobeat Party

The Afrobeat Renaissance continues to flourish in the US.

A new 13 piece afrobeat band based out of Brooklyn called Zongo Junction is hosting a monthly party called "Afro Funky" dedicated to afrobeat, funk and soul. The parties started in July at Public Assembly but are moving to a new venue. The nights are expected to grow as time goes on.

The next show is in Williamsburg (at the Cameo Gallery, a new music venue behind the lovin cup cafe on N 6th between Berry and Wythe). Participating bands are all based out of Brooklyn, and Williamburg in particular ( including Ikebe Shakedown, Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, No Small Money Brass Band, Meta & The Cornerstones). Very Brooklyn-centric!

Shows typically have 3 bands and a DJ and they're charging only $5 to get in. A good deal to see 3 great bands and a DJ! The party goes from 10pm-2am

Afro Funky!
A Celebration of Afrobeat & More
Thursday, February 11
9pm - $5
Cameo Gallery

93 N. 6th St. Between Berry and Wythe
Zongo Junction
Ikebe Shakedown
The People's Champs
DJ Stylus (Brooklyn Wonderland)

Akoya Afrobeat Hits in Brooklyn: Friday, January 8

This should be a fabulous show in one of the best clubs in the country for Afrobeat!

Akoya Afrobeat

with The Revelations (featuring Tre Williams)

Southpaw
125 5th Avenue (between Sterling & St. John's)
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Door 9 PM, Show 9:30
$10
Advance tickets

Saturday, January 9: Chopteeth at Rock and Roll Hotel

Great show in Washington, DC this Saturday, January 9th:

Chopteeth Afrofunk Big Band with DJ Jahsonic!

The Rock & Roll Hotel
1353 H St NE
Washington, DC
(202) 388-ROCK
$15—doors open at 8:30PM
All ages
Advance tickets

Chopteeth and Kinobe & Soul Beat Africa w/ Head-Roc

This is going to be a fantastic show!

On Saturday, November 28th, Chopteeth returns to the Black Cat in Washington, DC for a dynamic evening of African dance music. You can count on Chopteeth for explosive 1970s West African big band classics as well as critically-acclaimed original music inspired by afrobeat, highlife and African rhumba. Big horns, raging guitars and driving rhythms—there’s never a dull moment once the band's funk train starts rolling.

Kinobe and Soul Beat Africa will open the evening with its internationally-celebrated synthesis of African roots and world music. The BBC calls Kinobe "some of the most exquisite music coming out of Africa today." Traditional African instruments – koras, kalimbas, adungus, endongos, ngonis, drums – blend with guitars and keyboards, and draw on influences from around the globe. All Music Guide praises the group for its "effortless virtuosity." Kinobe and Soul Beat Africa present a scintillating new groove and an amazing performance.

Head-Roc, the Mayor of DC hip-hop, will join Chopteeth on stage for a special guest appearance, bringing his trademark blend of truth-telling and beats.

Saturday, November 28

The Black Cat

1811 14th St NW

Washington, DC 20009

(202) 667-4490

9PM - $15

Buy advance tickets

About Chopteeth

Chopteeth is a 14-piece Afrofunk orchestra exploring the common groove between the funkiest, most hip-shakin’ West African and American popular music. Chopteeth’s sound is a spicy stew of modern jazz, Yoruba tribal music and burning, James Brown-inspired rhythms, The band has electrified dance audiences in the Washington, DC and Baltimore region since 2004. The Washington Post described Chopteeth “a sensation” and “one of DC’s funkiest bands.” Chopteeth was featured on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition for its “afrofunk with lunatic energy,” while Baltimore Magazine raved about Chopteeth’s “epic live shows.” The band’s debut CD was released in September 2008 and met with international critical acclaim: “thunderous and potent” (Billboard Magazine); “wonderfully fresh” (All Music Guide); “socially conscious and raucous” (All About Jazz). In February 2009, the Washington Area Music Association awarded Chopteeth its Artist of the Year Wammie Award as well as Wammie Awards for Best World Music Group, Best World Music CD and Best Debut CD. Chopteeth appears regularly at many of the top area music venues including The Kennedy Center, Strathmore, The 9:30 Club, The Black Cat and many others.

About Kinobe & Soul Beat Africa

Kinobe (pronounced “Chi-No-Bé”) is an accomplished musician from Uganda whose early abilities in traditional African music quickly garnered acclaim on the world stage. Kinobe has toured the African continent for more than a decade performing with such figures in African roots music as Toumani Diabate, Youssou N’dour, Salif Keita, Angelique Kidjo, Oliver Mtukudzi, Baaba Maal, Ismael Lo, and many others. His band Soul Beat Africa is the new voice of Ugandan music. They have been bringing their energetic and highly visual show to audiences across Europe and Africa for years. These musicians represent the new vanguard of Ugandan performers, gifted instrumentalists steeped in the music of their homeland, but with ears opened to the sounds of the world at large. Driving poly-rhythms underlay transcendent melodies, touching audiences throughout the world.

About Head-Roc

For over the past 15 years Head-Roc has come to embody the passions, hopes and dreams of a wonderfully talented and all too often overlooked DC music scene. Head-Roc’s honest and relevant lyrics are a refreshing change in this current era of corporate Hip-Hop exploitation. His music has inspired many in the progressive movement to rethink Hip Hop’s potential for achieving social change and he is widely regarded as one of the key voices in this movement!

Fela Musical Moves to Broadway

By Robert Fox

Great review of Bill T. Jones's Broadway musical "Fela!" in today's New York Times.

I know that's an unexpected combination of words in a single sentence. However the critically-acclaimed show features serious music performed and arranged by key members of Brooklyn's Antibalas, and it provides a new platform to expand Fela's message and tell his story. This week the show moved to a major Broadway venue--the Eugene O’Neill Theater--following a highly successful Off-Broadway run. David McDavitt wrote a very positive review of the performance last year on this blog.

The New York Times piece gives a valuable stamp of approval to the show (Broadway shows are known to close immediately after a negative review in the Times). Here are some higlights:

Fela who? On Broadway?

Those are basic questions that “Fela!” faces when it opens on Monday. The show has moved from a widely praised Off Broadway production, last year at 37 Arts, to the larger and more mainstream realm of the Broadway musical — from 299 seats to 1,050. Amid theaters filled with more recognizable fare — movie adaptations, revivals, jukebox musicals — “Fela!” seems downright quixotic. Although the music that Fela invented, Afrobeat, and the central events of “Fela!” are familiar to Africans, in the United States Fela (as Kuti is usually called) is largely unknown except by African-music devotees and fans of political music.

...

The goal “Fela!” has set for itself is to be true to his music and his impact while reaching a Broadway musical audience. It is, inevitably, a translation, but one governed more by respect and ambition than by show-business routine. “Fela!” juggles the conflicting demands of Mr. Jones’s own artistic leanings — in a celebrated career that has often pondered history, race and sexuality — and the commercial imperatives of Broadway, where theatergoers’ idea of African music might begin and end with “The Lion King.”

...

“Fela!” shakes up its environment, making a Broadway theater look like a club.

The chronology of the show, set in 1978 but including events from the 1980s isn’t fully accurate, Mr. Jones allowed. Like Fela it prefers the mythic to the mundane and presents its story not through linear narrative but in songs, explosive dances, recollections and flashbacks loosely woven through a performance that Fela gave at the Shrine, his club in Lagos, Nigeria’s capital. It relies on the simmering beat of his music and the indefatigable dancing of an ensemble that regularly spills offstage and into the audience.

The article also includes a nice summary of why Afrobeat inspires so many:

In Africa, Fela, who died at 58 of complications from AIDS, is a figure to rival Bob Marley as both a musical innovator and a symbol of resistance. Afrobeat, the style he forged in the early ’70s, combined African rhythms and messages with the jazz and funk that Fela absorbed during his education in Britain and the United States. Ghanaian highlife, Nigerian Yoruba rhythms, Afro-Cuban mambos, James Brown, John Coltrane, Nina Simone and, yes, Frank Sinatra all flowed into his music, which sounds exactly like none of them.

Afrobeat is insinuating but hard-headed, with stubbornness encoded in its sound and its lyrics. Its grooves are unhurried and hypnotic, with guitar, bass and drums locked into repetitive patterns while voices and horns leap freely. On Fela’s albums songs stretch 10 to 20 minutes, in long, tension-and-release forms. Each track is an excursion through verses, choruses, jagged horn-section lines, call-and-response vocals with Fela’s backup singers and dancers (who were his wives), individual solos and bruising full-band attacks.

It’s music of steadfastness and endurance, of uncompromising determination. It’s also, of course, dance music, made for long nights in clubs. Within the grooves Fela’s lyrics denounce corruption and injustice, call for African values and challenge authority.

Check out these cool video and music samples from the show (and dig the Halliburton reference for a reminder of how some things never seem to change).

It's great to see Antibalas getting the credit they deserve for their superb musicianship and vision. The band is hosting a residency at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn over the next few weeks for those lucky enough to get tickets to see them in their true element.

PS--There will be a special performance of the show on December 10th to support Amnesty International's Global Write-a-Thon as part of worldwide Human Rights Day. Use the code FEL4AMS to receive discounted tickets for the show that day. Amnesty International's prisoner of conscience campaign in the 1970's was instrumental in freeing Fela from prison and torture in Nigeria. Thanks to Nadine Bloch for the heads up on this opportunity to do the right thing!

Chopteeth CD Release Party: Sat, Sept 20!

Washington, DC-based afrofunk group Chopteeth is releasing its debut CD on Saturday, September 20 at a special CD release show at DC club The Black Cat. If you're in the region, come to the party and be the first to own the new recording, which highlights original Chopteeth music on 9 tracks!

The Washington Post highlights Chopteeth’s new CD and the Saturday show with a recommendation from Post music reviewer David Malitz:

The band has become a local sensation—the dozen-plus member outfit cooks up a scintillating stew of Afrofunk, rumba, salsa, ska and funk. The group's live shows have been known to make even the most motionless of concert-watchers flail their limbs and do something that resembles dancing. There's no other band in the area with as funky and wide-reaching sound as Chopteeth... Saturday at the Black Cat, Chopteeth celebrates the release of its self-titled, debut album which does a fantastic job capturing the sweaty energy of the band's live show—not an easy task.

The evening will open with the massive West African percussion and dance orchestra Farafina Kan. Joining Chopteeth onstage will be Grammy-nominated griot Cheick Hamala Diabate, as well as the Mayor of DC hip-hop, Head-Roc. DJ Nitekrawler will spin funk rarities between sets.

Saturday, September 20
The Black Cat
1811 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009
202-667-7960All ages—$15—9PM

You can hear samples of the new CD on Chopteeth's MySpace page! The CD will be publicly available on September 23.

FELA ! A New Musical

By David McDavitt

Fela on Broadway? Sounds like a disaster, right? I entered the theater fearing the worst, “Fela, Get Your Gun,” or “West Side Story, Lagos.” Fortunately what unfolded instead was a gritty, hyper-realistic biography of Fela Kuti told in an interview style, bejeweled with Fela’s own afrobeat music! Let’s break this masterpiece down!

Written by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones, the story relies heavily upon the best source on Fela: the transcribed interviews by Carlos Moore, “Fela Fela This Bitch of a Life.” Much of the story is biographical FELA 101, including his revolutionary civil rights ideologies, attacks suffered by the Nigerian government, relationship with his activist mother, and development of a novel musical genre, “afrobeat.” For those unfamiliar with Fela and Nigerian pidgin English, the producers thoughtfully include lyric subtitles, and a dictionary in the program. "Fela!" covers much ground, childhood to 1980-ish. Included in the play are some absolute gems of Fela trivia, indicating some serious research. Even I, a pretty diehard Fela fan, learned new facts! Also impressive was a section that deconstructed and then reconstructed “afrobeat” music, describing and demonstrating the sources and evolution of this fusion music in narrative form. Crucial.

The actors are phenomenal! Fela is brilliantly portrayed by Sierra Leone’s Sahr Ngaujah. It is obvious Sahr engaged in considerable scrutiny of the scant available Fela interviews and performances, as he has mastered Fela’s sly charm, fiery tirades, speech patterns and movements. And what isn’t Fela is real West African, filling in the gaps with palpable authenticity. There were a few moments when I found myself more thrilled than normally play-worthy, as if I was witnessing Fela himself at the Shrine nightclub in Lagos, Nigeria! The “Expensive Shit” scene was especially eerily Fela-esque.

Fela’s “Queens” were impressively portrayed by an international ensemble from Haiti, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, the Netherlands, and the USA. Each conveyed an appropriate air of fierce pride & rebellious Lagos ghetto refinement. Character commitment even carried over to the way they looked at audience members as the queens passed through the aisles- a nod of solidarity to fellow women of African descent, a disdainful glance at oyinbo. The queens’ singing was dead-on, perfectly capturing the haunting shrill lax unison of Fela’s backing vocals.

Their African dancing was expertly choreographed by Bill T. Jones, and masterfully executed. It was so authentically African as to be absolutely natural and transparent.

The music was perfect, performed by members of Antibalas and Akoya afrobeat bands, as well as NYC mercenaries. The band is on stage and visible throughout the performance, lending a “live at the Shrine” feel to the performance. A brilliant decision to use a real afrobeat band! It was lovely to hear them play some Fela hits often avoided by bands because they are so well known. Like a real Fela performance, the band played long before Fela himself appeared (while the audience entered). Though out of chronological order, themed Fela tunes named and punctuated the scenes. And some obscure cuts- not only greatest hits! As the band dropped the first song, the wicked grooved, seldom heard “Everything Scatter,” the hair stood on the back of our necks, and we the audience knew we were in for some serious funking.

ACT 1 Everything Scatter, Yellow Fever, Trouble Sleep, Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense, Lover, Upside Down (with a Sandra Izsadore sound-alike Sparla Swa!), Expensive Shit, ITT/Pipeline.

ACT 2 Water No Get Enemy/Egbe Mi O, Shuffering and Shmiling, Zombie (great choreography), Na Poi, Sorrow Tears and Blood, Dance of the Orishas (trad. bata), Shine (by Johnson, McLean, Lewis), Coffin for Head of State


ANTIBALAS
Conductor/Tromb/Keys: Aaron Johnson
Director: Jordan McLean
Bass: Nick Movshon
Guitar: Marcos Garcia (wow!)
Tenor Sax: Stuart Bogie
Sticks/Shekere: Dylan Fusillo (displaying impressive discipline)

AKOYA

Congas: Yoshihiro Takemasa (yosh!)

INDEPENDENT
Guitar/Keys: Jeremy Wilms (yeah brother)

Drums: Greg Gonzales (most accurate "Water" groove I've heard!)
Bari Sax: Alex Harding (ya mon!)

While all band members are masters of Afrobeat, verbatim sax solos by Antibalas’ Stuart Bogie stole the show despite Fela’s (Sahr’s) lip-synching the sax solos on stage.

Some songs were sung a-cappella to haunting effect (like “Shuffering and Shmiling,” and “Trouble Sleep”). Other songs were spoken as narrative, like parts of “Sorrow Tears, and Blood.” Musically, the only detraction I noticed, was the altering of song lyrics to “translate” them for non-Fela fans. The new lyrics lacked the poetic power and cadence of Fela’s originals. Given the projected subtitles of lyrics, I wish they had “translated” them via projection, and left the songs untouched. The Anglicized lyrics were silly, distracting, and disrupted the rhythm of the vocals. "Coffin for Head of State” and “Trouble Sleep” suffered the most for lyric tampering.

Costuming was accurate down to the smallest details. Those of the queens (Act 1) were especially noteworthy, evoking specific wives of Fela in splendorous stage attire.

The performance was enhanced with projected real and simulated video footage of Fela, the police, soldiers, Lagos, Fela’s mother, etc. It added a captivating dimension. Set change was achieved via sophisticated manipulation of lighting and paint. The sets also employed black light paint (invisible otherwise) that made the set burst into a mystical veve mosaic for a stunning vodou scene. One moment we're in the ruby atmopsphere of the Shrine in Lagos, the next we're dancing with Shango in the magical realm of the Ifa.

The night ended with a generous encore of “Gentleman” with none other than Bill T. Jones dancing up a storm wearing only gray suit pants (very Lagos).

Bottom line, this musical sets a new standard for realism and power. This play is a vehicle for the ultimate Fela tribute band, and likely as close to a live Fela show possible. It would be a crime for "Fela!" not to win a Tony.

Afrobeat in Amsterdam- Zuluwannsago

By Kenny Eaton


Allow me to introduce Zuluwannsago- an afrofunk band based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The 10-member group’s funky grooves and African infusions are infecting audiences and rousing dance floors. Zuluwannsago’s diverse collection of musicians shows through in their music- lots of flavors, tons of power. Bandleader Yusuf Nuweku originally comes from Ghana. From childhood on he played the traditional percussion rhythms of his country and as he moved to the Netherlands he began to develop himself further as a bandleader.

The rest of the international Zuluwannsago lineup consists of members from the Ivory Coast, Portugal, the Netherlands and the Caribbean. Check out this sweet snippet of them performing at a Jazz Festival in Holland:

Afrobeat in Action--Seun Kuti at The 9:30 Club in Washington DC!!!

By Kenny Eaton

Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 will be playing at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. on Monday July 7th at 7:00PM. Seun is of course the son of of the late, great Fela Kuti, who started the genre of Afrobeat-- mixing West African funk and American jazz into an unmistakable collage of dance, melody, and culture. Seun Kuti,follows in the trailblazing aspirations of his father--developing Afrobeat musically, culturally, and politically. He's reassembled key members of Fela's earth-shaking band and is making a powerful impact by updating a classic sound in his own innovative way.

For those dedicated readers of the Afrofunk Music Forum, you might have read a blog I wrote a while back on Seun and Fela Kuti. It gives a nice perspective into the Kuti family's history of music making and its lasting effects on the world.

Do not miss this incredible opportunity to witness the Kuti heritage in action. Check out Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. on July 7th. It's an all ages show. The 9:30 Club is located at 815 V St, and tickets can be purchased for $25 at the 9:30 Club, or via tickets.com. Yeah Yeah!

Stayin' Bulletproof

By Kenny Eaton


The Brooklyn-based group Antibalas kicked off a swarming new brand of afrobeat and experimental funk with their 2007 album Security. The dozen-strong members of Antibalas (which is spanish for 'bulletproof') have teamed up with the prolific indie-producer John McEntire (Tortoise, Stereolab, Tom Ze) to capture the new direction of the group’s music. Anti- Records describes the relationship the group has with their new producer:

"Enticed by McEntire to explore and unleash sides not previously mined on earlier recordings, the seven original compositions presented here illustrate perhaps a darker, more dynamic approach that's guaranteed to shock and dazzle new and old fans alike. This is music that was made to linger long after the party's over."

The raw size and technical complexity of Antibalas’ new album immediately lends credence to McEntire’s work with other nu-jazz heavyweights, Tortoise. Antibalas even had a review of the album from industry heavyweights at Rolling Stone.

I was overwhelmed by Security. Antibalas has sufficiently mastered Fela’s approach to jazz and African music, but crosses genres even further to infuse experimentation and jazz in this already eclectic sound. Security alludes to the experimentation of late John Coltrane and the controlled chaos of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew while staying in the realm of afrobeat and funk.

Security is just plain kickin’. I like to be challenged when listening to music, but I also like to stay on terra firma and retain some groove-sensibilities. Antibalas captures all of this on their new album. I can’t ask for much more. The instrumental nature of the album reflects the group’s mastery of their instruments and their brand of music. Even after all this, the vocal work continues in the style of Fela and embraces the energy of afrobeat. The raw intensity of their live show is reflected in this new album. If you have a list of albums to check out, Security should be placed near the top.

"How does it feel when someone calls you the best drummer in the world?"

By Robert Fox

Reuters published a rare interview with Afrobeat icon Tony Allen last week. Fela's original music director and musical dynamo is still going strong. In a conversation with Tom Pfeiffer of Reuters, Tony comes out swinging, telling young musicians not to "run away from their roots," and denouncing the Nigerian government for "every time putting the wrong person in place." Check it out:

RABAT, Morocco (Reuters) - Legend has it that when Nigerian drummer Tony Allen quit the band of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, it took four percussionists to replace him.

Brian Eno called Allen, 67, "perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived." Kuti said that "without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat."

Allen recorded over 30 albums with Kuti and his group, Africa '70, which fused jazz, funk and African traditional singing. The songs were usually more than 10 minutes long, and Kuti's lyrics were often angry diatribes against corrupt African dictators and Nigeria's military regimes.

Allen, who made an album in 2006 with Damon Albarn of English rock band Blur, was speaking at Morocco's Mawazine (World Rhythms) music festival in the capital Rabat.

Q: Is your success due only to talent or did luck also help?

A: I would say I was born with it. I would say it's in the blood. My father took up music as a hobby -- when he came home from work he played to amuse us, my brothers and my friends. I didn't know I was going to end up playing music. I studied electronics... I just went in the evening to practice the drums. I heard a new band was going to be formed and I said to myself: 'It's now or never'.

Q: Are talented young musicians appearing to replace your generation?

A: There are many young talents coming up now who only need the exposure. The only problem is that they are running away from their own thing, their roots. They are stuck into stuff borrowed from abroad and that's something I really detest.

Q: Is it easy these days to make it as a professional musician?

A: No, no no -- It's harder now, it's too commercial in this modern age where everyone can manipulate the computer. You can make music without even being a musician. And with online piracy you can't sell enough records.

Q: Your home country is still troubled by corruption, poverty and unemployment. What needs to change in Nigeria?

A: The government. Every time, they put the wrong person in place. I don't see Nigerians benefiting from all the oil they have. This government needs to create a social movement. Maybe it must go to the poor areas, check it out, ask people what are their needs. The people in power say if you are complaining too much it is because you are poor. The anger is reflected in the music. But if the music is too militant, the media won't touch it. So how do you send this message?

Q: How does it feel when someone calls you the best drummer in the world?

A: I know I've done my homework properly, but of course it doesn't get to my head. Call me anything -- I don't give a shit. I just want to move forward, I've kept on doing what I wanted to do. I kept on exploring and learning more.

Q: What are your plans for the future -- is it getting harder to play and to tour?

A: As for my playing, I am in control. My new album is recording now between Paris and Lagos, I finished recording now and it's just mixing. It's called "Celebration." Just wait -- it's going to be a surprise.

Keeping It In The Family

By Kenneth Eaton

Fela Kuti is praised the world over as the father of Afrobeat. His virtuosic approach to songwriting and legendary stage presence still provide inspiration to countless musicians and bandleaders. Fela’s two sons, Femi and Seun, are continuing in their father’s footsteps and blazing new trails in Afrobeat. Last month, Seun launched a world tour and released his first CD--you're definitely going to want to hear it. Be sure to check out this excellent new article in this month’s issue of The Walrus about Fela and his sons. Here's a clip about Fela from the article:

When twenty-five-year-old Seun Kuti of Nigeria took the stage for a showcase concert in Seville, Spain, last October, it was as if a ghost had entered the hall. Seun was fronting his late father’s band, Egypt 80, orchestra sized and iconic in the minds of some 2,000 world music professionals gathered for the annual womex trade fair. This was Fela Kuti’s legendary Afrobeat sound as few have heard it since the patriarch died of aids in 1997. The Egypt 80 brass section sounded dense and primal, blaring out passages from Fela’s epic composition “Colonial Mentality” over thick layers of interlocked guitars and keyboards, muscular bass, bubbling percussion, and — an Afrobeat signature — high hat sizzling like bacon in a pan. At centre stage, young fearlessly appropriated his father’s trademarks: the tight pants, the bare chest, the occasional dalliance with a saxophone, the rough, taunting, half-rapped vocals that morphed from playfulness to outrage, and the quirky stage moves — in Seun’s case, wildly elastic, almost contortionist. We could have been peering through a time tunnel at the young Fela himself.

Of course, when Fela Kuti was in his twenties he was an unknown. In 1963, he had been studying at the Trinity College of Music in London, and was returning to a hopeful, newly independent Nigeria with his head full of soul music, jazz, and “highlife” — West African boogie. Fela’s early attempts to fuse these genres were innovative but not especially well received in Lagos, where audiences preferred their highlife free of jazz complexity. It was only some seven years later, when, after processing black power, free jazz, and James Brown, Fela created Africa 70 and the funky, irreverent sound we now know as Afrobeat emerged. By the mid-’70s, he was pioneering a new art form with his bold, often profane assaults on Nigeria’s
political class, which he portrayed as thieving and squandering billions in oil and other revenues while doing little to improve the lives of ordinary people. Fela’s songs lasted twenty minutes or more, with the maestro conducting his enormous brass section, pounding on a Fender Rhodes keyboard, blowing on his tenor sax, and, when he was good and ready, barking out pidgin English screeds the likes of which had never before crossed the lips of an educated Yoruba man. Songs like “Why Black Man Dey Suffer,” “Expensive Shit,” “No Bread,” “Up Side Down,” and especially “Zombie,” Fela’s lacerating parody of Nigerian soldiers, had no precedent in African music. Musicians were there to praise, to uplift, and entertain. This one seemed hell bent on destruction.

You can hear tracks from the new CD on the My Space page for Seun Kuti and Egypt 80.

A particularly exciting performance in the works is on July 6th in NYC’s Central Park for the Summerstage concert series--Seun Kuti will be playing with Afrika Bambaata (who has been credited more than anyone else as a driving force in the emergence of hip-hop), plus reggae hero U-Roy. Seeing these legends of music in one night will definitely be a memorable experience. For those in the Washington, DC area, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 will be playing at The 9:30 Club on July 7th.

Banning Eyre has a great interview with Seun from 2007 on Afropop Worldwide. And--I hope you have room to dance near your computer--check out this spellbinding video of Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 while in Dakar in 2005, featuring the immortal Tony Allen on drums and Manu Dibango on sax. Wow!