Anyone familiar with the Rough Guide compilations knows that they always do their homework. While they never attempt to release definitive statements on global music genres and styles, they do attempt to offer listeners a truly representational tip of the iceberg. The Rough Guide to Afrobeat Revolution is a deliberately post-
Fela exercise in exposition. Included in these 13 tracks are acts which were directly influenced by the music of
Fela Kuti, who have taken it beyond the cult of its father figure and toward a global phenomenon.
Tony Allen has a track here, and he was there at the beginning, But in his seventies, he is as much a force as ever in spreading and expanding the musical reach of Afrobeat, and his contribution, “Kilode,” is a monster. Elsewhere, we get tracks from Canada’s
Souljazz Orchestra and
Afrodizz, France’s
Fanga, North Carolina’s
Afromotive, Chicago’s Ted Sirota & His Rebel Souls; African acts Ruth Tafebe & the AfroRockerz, Kaleta and Zozo Afrobeat, and
Lekan Babalola, and DJ
Dennis Ferrer. This set also comes with a bonus disc that includes a full album by Kaleta and Zozo Afrobeat entitled Land of Guns. Apparently a favorite of the compilers, this disc is worth the price of admission on its own, since it showcases the innovations in Afrobeat made by Leon “Kaleta” Ligan-Majek, who was born in Lagos and played with
Fela, but now lives and works in New York. He is chief composer, guitarist, and vocalist here. The way this music stretches in post-bop jazz and modern, breakbeat-driven funk is startlingly modern. This is a big band making big music, enfolding contemporary sounds into its unmistakable brand of roots music. Check the title track -- which refers to the U.S. -- “Baba Nla Lya,” and “Fimilie.” ~ Thom Jurek