African

Legendary music by "lost" bands hardly ever measures up to its own hype. This just might be an exception. Oneness of Juju albums are the sort of holy grail that keeps soul collectors thrashing about at night. To the label's everlasting credit, Strut has relieved listeners of that problem. The music itself is the direct forebear of bands like the Brand New Heavies, a mix of club funk and disco that at times tends to get a little precious…

Inspired by suffering and injustice in Africa (the liner notes don't specify any events or places), this is an album of rock songs, many of which are heavy on guitar and drums and light on keyboards…

This Rough Guide showcases some of Africa’s leading lights of the guitar, both past and present, from West African bluesmen Samba Touré and Alhousseini Anivolla to the fingerpicking wizardry of South African maskanda legend Shiyani Ngcobo.

Solomon Ilori and His Afro-Drum Ensemble - African High Life (1963) {Blue Note Connoisseur CD Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 487 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 178 Mb
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© 1963, 2006 Blue Note / Capitol | Connoisseur CD Series | 0946 3 59440 2 0
International / Jazz / World / African Traditions / Highlife

African High Life is the debut album by Nigerian drummer and percussionist Solomon Ilori recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label. The album was reissued on CD in 2006 with three bonus tracks recorded at a later session. It seems strange that Blue Note, a label generally associated with bop, hard bop, and the early avant-garde, would have released an album like African High Life. It didn't really fit in with Blue Note's back catalog and – perhaps as a result – the label didn't tread these waters again for a number of years. Regardless, this is a very enjoyable if not essential album of traditional African highlife music set to dance tempos.

This collaboration between soul singer Frankie Lee and multi-instrumentalist bluesman Dan Treanor definitely utilizes some African elements, but the title might be an exaggeration. At heart it's very much a straightforward (and excellent) blues record. Of course, the blues does have its roots in African music, but they're not as widely explored as they might be. "African Wind" comes closest, with kalimba (and Lee doing his best Taj Mahal imitation), and "Cane Flute Soul" brings in fife and drum - again, originally from West Africa, but really more familiar from Mississippi hill country. "The Griot" pays tribute to the African historian storyteller and historian, but with very American style. That said, Treanor does use ngoni and khalam (although it's hard to hear the former)…