Sunday, March 15, 2009

Ikenga Superstars of Africa - Greedy Man






















Greedy Man

Led by Vincent Okoroego, the Ikengas were a fairly popular "highlife guitar" group from Nigeria. Like many African groups in the 70s and 80s, they created upbeat, bouncy music to enliven the spirits of attracted customers at market stalls throughout Nigeria - Africa's form of market commercialism. Broken and "pidgin" English sharply cut into the groove and the soft, smooth Congolian guitar rift sounds like the source of Paul Simon's imperialistic replication of African music during the 80s.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

MPB pt. 1























Nega





















Farinha Do Desprezo
























Toc

Letta Mbulu - Mahlalela & Melodi


































Mahlalela
Melodi

From her 1970 release, "Letta"
White people, cleanse yourselves in the waters of primordial neck-crackin music

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Pharoah Sanders - Pharoah









































Harvest Time

Pharoah Sanders 1977 album released on the obscure label, India Navigation is by far his rarest and perhaps most beautiful album. "Harvest Time" fills up the first side of the record and contains some of Sanders most lyrical and forward tenor sax playing. Bathing in the atmosphere of lush chords from Tisziji Munoz's echoing electric guitar, Pharoah arises from the waters and glides on top of Munoz's motifs, caressing the majestic soundspace with lovely interpentrating soliloquies that bounce back and forth with bassist Steve Neil (sounding like Dave Holland) to then travel off into the cosmos to make love with some funky godhead residing inbetween Sirius and Torgious.