Wonderfully fuzzy work from Amanaz – one of the trippiest, headiest groups of the Zamrock scene of the 70s! The guitars here are very full and present – not at a hit you over the head jamming label, but with this rich sonic element that has lots of bassy undercurrents – at a level that makes the album a head-nodding gem all the way through – poised perfectly between some of the more psyche styles of the African scene of the time, and some of the more thoughtful singer-songwriter material. The group have a quality that's surprisingly deep – very soulful, and with a subtle power that comes through strongly – thanks to a mostly-English batch of lyrics (although a few tunes here are in their native Bemba.) No cuts are all-out funky, but all have this great slow-funk sort of charm – and titles include "I Am Very Far", "Sunday Morning", "Khala My Friend", "Green Apple", "Africa", "Making The Scene", "Easy Street", "Big Enough" and "Kale". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderfully fuzzy work from Amanaz – one of the trippiest, headiest groups of the Zamrock scene of the 70s! The guitars here are very full and present – not at a hit you over the head jamming label, but with this rich sonic element that has lots of bassy undercurrents – at a level that makes the album a head-nodding gem all the way through – poised perfectly between some of the more psyche styles of the African scene of the time, and some of the more thoughtful singer-songwriter material. The group have a quality that's surprisingly deep – very soulful, and with a subtle power that comes through strongly – thanks to a mostly-English batch of lyrics (although a few tunes here are in their native Bemba.) No cuts are all-out funky, but all have this great slow-funk sort of charm – and titles include "I Am Very Far", "Sunday Morning", "Khala My Friend", "Green Apple", "Africa", "Making The Scene", "Easy Street", "Big Enough" and "Kale". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic funk from South African saxophone legend Winston Mankuku Ngozi – working here in the group The Cliffs, who serve up a sweet 70s vibe for his solos! The instrumentation is great – a rougher-edged take on American jazz funk of the time – almost as if the aesthetic of 60s Prestige Records soul jazz moved forward, but without the same sort of polish – perfect for bringing out the edge in Ngozi's alto, as he blows in a group with Stompie Manana and George Tyefumani on trumpets, Roger Khoza on organ, and Allen Kwela on guitar. Titles include "Revelation", "Ever Green", "Over The Cliff", "Alex Express", and "Gu Gu Lethu". (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning start to the 80s from Fela Kuti – and a record that has the Egypt 80 band cooking every bit as strongly as Africa 70! The album's got this massively cooking vibe right from the start – fast-running, fast-riffing rhythms that are peppered with horns at the beginning of "Original Sufferhead", which then lay back for a nicely weird tenor solo, and some great keyboards too! "Power Show" is great too – with more other-worldly energy, and a vibe that almost makes it feel like Sun Ra has joined the band – and decided to deliver a solo on one of those weird keyboards of his! The arrangements are amazingly tight, and a bit more sophisticated than usual – and the whole thing grooves wonderfully. LP, Vinyl record album

An album-length monster from Fela Kuti – and a cut that has him still burning strong in the final years of his too-short life! The cut "Overtake Don Overtake Overtake" is a funky monster – spanning both sides of the record with a choppy drawn-out groove that features a cool spacey electric piano solo, sad wailing sax, and some catchy vocals on the hook – all with a core acoustic vibe that shows no traces of Fela and the group leaning into 80s technology, as so many of their contemporaries were doing. The track's right up there with Fela's best work ever – and the later, more obscure origin of the album makes it tougher to find than some of the earlier records too! LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant album from Fela – and one that shows him really coming into his own, with that tremendous new sound that would go onto influence decades of musicians! The title track – "Roforofo Fight" – is a side-long jam that instantly sets a new standard for African funk – skittish drums, a sweet keyboard line that snakily sets the groove, and a wonderful long alto solo that's got even more raspy soul than Fela's vocals! Those vocals are sometimes more broken up, verbally – and have an instrumental quality at the start – then lay into the lyrics later, with some great supporting backup. The flipside features the side-long "Go Slow" – a tune that layers and layers sounds as it moves on – from an initial thin keyboard line, to a rumbling bassy blend that has lots of room for the horns and vocals! LP, Vinyl record album

A very groovy album from jazz drum legend Buddy Rich – a set that's very different than anything else he ever did, including his other groovy albums from the 60s! The album's a surprisingly strong blend of jazz and Indian music – Rich on drums, and Alla Rakha on tablas – working under the direction of Ravi Shankhar, who helped put together the set! Tracks are long, all ragas, but with jazz inflections – and the record also features great work from Paul Horn on flute, a player who's perfect for these experiments – next to other musicians on sitar, tamboura, and dholak. Titles include "Tal Sawari", "Nagma E Raksh", "Rangeela", "Duet In Dadra", and "Khanda Kafi". (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album