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

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

A wonderful live set – and one that really reflects the rebirth of a legend! Ethiopian keyboardist Hailu Mergia cut some fantastic records back in the day, but had spent years driving a cab in Washington, DC – before the reissue of some of his older gems led the musician to come back out of retirement and play live again – which he does on this really fantastic set recorded in New York! The group's a trio – just bass and drums behind Hailu's keyboards, melodica, and occasional accordion – and the vibe is nicely different than some of his earlier material, with more complexity on some of the solos, and maybe a deeper sort of sophistication in the overall approach – as if Mergia spent all that time away from music cooking up new ideas that burst forth in the performance! Titles include "Yetewat Hil", "Yegle Nesh", Abichu Nega Nega", "Belew Beduby", and "Tizita". CD

A wonderful live set – and one that really reflects the rebirth of a legend! Ethiopian keyboardist Hailu Mergia cut some fantastic records back in the day, but had spent years driving a cab in Washington, DC – before the reissue of some of his older gems led the musician to come back out of retirement and play live again – which he does on this really fantastic set recorded in New York! The group's a trio – just bass and drums behind Hailu's keyboards, melodica, and occasional accordion – and the vibe is nicely different than some of his earlier material, with more complexity on some of the solos, and maybe a deeper sort of sophistication in the overall approach – as if Mergia spent all that time away from music cooking up new ideas that burst forth in the performance! Titles include "Yetewat Hil", "Yegle Nesh", Abichu Nega Nega", "Belew Beduby", and "Tizita". LP, Vinyl record album

(Jazz, Global Grooves) CD

(Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

No charity needed here – as reedman Eji Oyewole's got a wealth of talent on his own! Eji's a musician with roots in the 60s Nigerian scene, but left to follow a personal path through Europe and the US, where he picked up some wonderfully funky styles which are then brought home to create this completely cooking late 70s album! The style's different than other big Afro Funk names of the time – like Fela Kuti or Manu Dibango – but shares a similar sense of flowing, open grooves – and Eji's ability to act strongly as both a lead vocalist, and a soaring soloist on tenor, soprano, and flute! Rhythms are damn funky at the core – with almost a blacksploitation vibe at times – and the tracks are all quite long, with most of the real "voice" coming from the saxes, which speak volumes on their solos. Titles include "Gele Odun (Oil Boom)", "Lagos Complex Highways", "Unity In Africa", and "Charity Begins At Home". CD

No charity needed here – as reedman Eji Oyewole's got a wealth of talent on his own! Eji's a musician with roots in the 60s Nigerian scene, but left to follow a personal path through Europe and the US, where he picked up some wonderfully funky styles which are then brought home to create this completely cooking late 70s album! The style's different than other big Afro Funk names of the time – like Fela Kuti or Manu Dibango – but shares a similar sense of flowing, open grooves – and Eji's ability to act strongly as both a lead vocalist, and a soaring soloist on tenor, soprano, and flute! Rhythms are damn funky at the core – with almost a blacksploitation vibe at times – and the tracks are all quite long, with most of the real "voice" coming from the saxes, which speak volumes on their solos. Titles include "Gele Odun (Oil Boom)", "Lagos Complex Highways", "Unity In Africa", and "Charity Begins At Home". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Ghanaian funk singer, composer and arranger Rob – issued for the first time ever outside of Ghana, thanks to the deep diggers at Soundway! Rob sings in English throughout – and there's a slinky, slow-cooking, kinda strange groove on most of the numbers – a mix of funk with lots of offbeat, oddball touches – of the sort that some folks these days might dub Afro Psych – but which was just pretty darn experimental back in the day! Rhythms are heavy on guitar, bass, and drums – and plenty of offbeat percussion – all topped with some great heavy horns too. The memorable title track is one of the most unique Afro Funk songs you could ever hope to hear – , with dexterous opening horn blasts, clattering bell-like percussion, and undeniably carnal English vocals – and the rest of the album's pretty darn amazing too! Other titles include "Loose Up Yourself" "Not The End", "I've Got To See You Again Lord", "He Shall Live In You", "But You", "Bargain" and "Back On You". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing blend of sounds – and way different than you might expect! Yes, the record was part of a big cash-in Zorba moment in the 60s – but it sounds incredible, with this really groundbreaking "jazz meets world" vibe that matches these snake alto solos from Phil Woods with really haunting sounds on bouzukie, dumbeg, and oud – plus added percussion and other instruments – all then held down by Fender bass from Chet Amsterdam and guitar from the great Stuart Scharf! The blend is amazing – much more like an MPS session from the time than Impulse – and tracks include "Zorba The Greek", "Greek Cooking", "Nica", and "Got A Feelin". (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album