Every year is celebrated a Fela Day (few weeks ago in Paris), proving that Fela Kuti's spirit is still gliding around, despite a very varied comprehension. Good occasion anyway to search in muzzicaltrips archives, and look at how evolves perception of african music along the years. Here's an article about Fela Kuti which reveals part of the perception of a jazz magazine from 1981 (Jazz Hot, first jazz magazine in Europe created in 1935).
Here's another Fela Kuti afrobeat cover, from an artist I initially thought was from Suriname, but i finally discovered he was from Cabo Verde. This country being a portuguese colony, Johnny Rodrigues was supposed to serve in portuguese army to fight Angola independence movement, but he could avoidit flying to the US with his family, and then lived in Netherland during the mid 70s. He recorded this LP in 1974, including the track "Hey Mal Yo", which is inspired from traditional Portuguese folk song and dance called "O Malhão" (meaning the winnover), and which became N°1 in dutch charts in 1975. Another track in the album is the Fela Kuti cover Lady, here played with a nice funky groove.
Johnny and his Orquesta Rodriguez - African Woman:
Many artists worlwide covered Fela Kuti songs. Try the afrocolombian weird version of Shakara HERE, or a jazz fusion cover HERE, or a mandingo afrobeat-inspired senegalese folk HERE. Lady lyrics:
From the 60s avant garde jazz to the 70s jazz rock fusion, Michael White had opportunity to play his violin with many kind of musicians. He released 3 LPs on Capitol with his band The Fourth Way, then various albums as leader on Impulse, and worked as sideman for Pharoah Sanders or Alice Coltrane.
The Land of Spirit and Light is a creative melodic and percussive mixture, allowing space for improvisations supported by Cecil McBee punchy bassline. This track is a unique trip around Fela Kuti's "Egbe Mi O"... Michael White seems to suggest that Spirit and Light are to be found (or at least searched) in Africa.
Michael White - The Land of Sipirt and Light (Part 3):
Michael White (violin)
Kenny Jenkins (vocals)
Bobby King (guitar, classical guitar)
Bob King (classical guitar)
Cecil McBee (bass instrument)
Stanley Nash (vocals)
Prince Lasha (flute, alto flute, piccolo, clarinet)
Ed Kelly (piano)
Kenneth Nash (percussion)
Ever heard a Fela Kuti track played by capeverdean artist based in Holland?! Check HERE.
Muzzicaltrips will present many exemples of mutual influences between Africa and Latin America.
Here's "Shacalao", played by Colombian Lisandro Mesa, cumbia master, known as "Accordion World Champion", joined by his conjunto.
It consists of a roots afro-colombian version of nigerian king of afrobeat Fela Kuti song "Skakara".
Amazing mixed influences version, atlantic ocean seems to have evaporated...
Lisandro Meza - Shakalao:
Accordeon is so spread in Colombia that I remember talking a guy who could not imagine nor concieve that this instrument was brought from abroad... As I could not convince him, let's have Lisandro Meza's clarification on story of 1st Accordeon in Colombia (A. Wolfe - 2003):
"The first accordion arrived in Colombia via Coveñas, brought by a man named Pisarro, Joaquín Pisarro. He came from Germany and arrived at the ports carrying grappa, wire, hammers, hachets, and machetes, and he traded thesae things for tabacco as he traveled. Once he brought an accordion and he sold it to the Villa Milian Oveja family for two bales of tobacco. The three brothers in the family all learned to play on that accordion.
Later they sold the accordion to Francisco El Hombre, whose real name was Francisco Moscote. They gave him the name "Francisco El Hombre" because he lived in Machovallo, and most of the men from that region were away working in the banana plantations when a plague came and killed many of the children. But there were no men to bury the children. Francisco said, "I am the man who will bury the children", so they called him "Francisco El Hombre" (Francisco the Man). The legend is that he was the first great accordionist from Colombia."
