'BODEDEREK

Above, is a YouTube clip of Fela Kuti and Africa 70 performing a classic Afro-beat tune titled "Cross Examination." Although the performance took place at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1978, the sound has not dated and still sounds just as fresh and exciting today as it did at the time. It actually reminds me of the comprehensive show at the Africa Shrine in Lagos during those days. The live performances at Shrine were usually songs that Fela hadn't released and sometimes hadn't recorded. Fans were treated to music no-one else was aware of unless they came to a live show. This exclusivity brought fans and lovers of the genre. The song is a political tune, indicting the African Military dictators that monopolised power in a lot of the independent nations of the continent at that time. Accusing the soldiers of seizing power by force in military coups, also pointing out that some of these military rulers were the instruments used by the colonial m...

The Fela Bandwagon..(Conclusion): Someone once asked the reason why afro-beat music has become suddenly more popular, readily accepted and is growing stronger with time. I don't know for sure, but the answer could be the raw energy from the music.  Everyone has their own way of rationalising the sound. I loved the rhythm section when Tony Allen was drummer and leader of the backing band, Africa 70. He held sway over the percussive elements, led by example and kept the maverick players in check without stunting their natural growth as instrumentalists and musicians. The jazzy horn lines and witty vocals were for me, an added bonus. Fela himself was a first class musician who composed, arranged and oversaw all the material elements in the music. The man was a multi-instrumentalist. On stage, he played the keyboards, saxophone, sang and conducted the group's repertoire.  This is one of the reason I disagree with the many people that like to describe him as Africa's...

Fela Bandwagon contd... The world is watching and waiting for hits that will enhance and give the afro-beat genre a stronger foothold, keep it interesting until it gets passed on to the next generation. It's what Fela Kuti would have wanted.  I mentioned JK Brimah because Fela Kuti's personal and musical development wouldn't have been complete without the influence of JK. (A chapter is dedicated to JK in Fela's autobiography " This Bitch of A Life " written by Carlos Moore), the story is even more interesting when JK tells it. It annoys me that today's practitioners see JK (who is still alive and well) as an irrelevance, only good in their eyes when they want their undeserved validation. JK at a Party Other individuals who supported and encouraged Fela's musicality but today are given no credit, (especially during the years of strife and turmoil), were individuals like Tunde Kuboye , who ran The Jazz Club of Nigeria , promoted Afr...