MARK TURNER wallows in the virtuosity of Swansea Jazz Festival openers, Simon Spillett and Pete Long
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Global Routes with TONY BURKE: August 30 2023
Reviews of Afrobeat Classic Gentleman by Fela Kuti and Les Symphatics de Porto Novo Benin
PAUL DONOVAN recommends three new books that explore the human relationship with nature
Doomed adolescents, when the missing person is you, classic whodunnit, and an anti-capitalist eco-thriller
WILL STONE takes a ticket to indie disco heaven, but misses the rarely performed tunes
Reviews of new releases by Jens Lekman, Big Thief, and Christian McBride Big Band
TOM PIERSCIONEK recommends a remarkable series of interviews with those few and brave Israeli citizens who refuse to do military service
NIGERIAN sax player, bandleader, composer, political activist and Pan-Africanist Fela Kuti is regarded (with his band Africa 70) as the father of Afrobeat, which combined West African music with funk and jazz, popular not just in Nigeria but across Africa.
Fela made his recording debut in 1970 and his 1973 set Gentleman is seen as an Afrobeat classic. One of his most political albums ever, its title track attacks the colonial mentality of Africans who maintain European customs and clothing styles. The album features a cover collage of a monkey’s head on a western-suited body.
The original Fela Kuti: Gentleman has been issued on vinyl to mark its 50th anniversary by Knitting Factory Records.
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