AfroPulse Concert Newsletter for February

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8 Feb 2001       AfroPulse Concert News        Volume 1 Issue 1
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Contents:
   West African Wednesdays (WAW)
   February recommendations
   January reviews
   Summer sneak preview
   
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West African Wednesdays (WAW)

The big excitement this month is the start of a new concert
series featuring live performances from West Africa!  AfroPulse
is promoting this show at the Atlas Supper Club, 3760 Wilshire
Blvd (at Western next to the Wiltern Theatre) on the last
Wednesday of each month.

February's performer is Prince Eyango of Cameroon.  He has a
fast guitar, a sweet voice, and a flashy dance routine.  He
performs a style of music called makossa.  This music used to
be a gentle, traditional sound but Eyango juiced it up in the
80's to create a more energetic dance music that incorporates
R&B and funk to give it substance.  He is acclaimed in Cameroon
as one of their top musicians, and garnered a #1 hit in Africa
and Europe with "You Must Calculate".  His performance is
supported by congas, horns, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals,
and dancers.

The Grand Opening of WAW will be on February 28 and will
celebrate Eyango's North American CD Release of "You Go Pay".
Eyango will perform songs from the new CD as well as some of his
older hits.  The evening will start at 8:30 with an acoustic set
for those having dinner, then at 9:30 DJ Clement will spin dance
music, with the final set starting at 10:15 and featuring
Eyango's fast-paced high energy dance makossa.

Tickets are $13 in advance, $17 at the door and can be ordered
along with some of Eyango's CDs from the AfroPulse website
(http://www.afropulse.com/music/concerts/eyango.html)
or you can buy tickets at the following locations:

Aron's Records, 1150 North Highland, Hollywood (323) 469-4700
Jah Lambs, 1040 S. Fairfax Ave, Little Ethiopia, (323) 931-4105
Obichi Enterprises, 4750½ Washington Blvd, (323) 933-5205
Rhino Records, 1720 Westwood Blvd, West LA, (310) 474-8685
Vinyl Fetish, 1750 Vermont Ave, Los Feliz, (323) 660-4500

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February Recommendations

Besides Eyango the best pick for February is the Antibalas show
at Fais Do-Do on Feb 14.  Antibalas is from The Big Apple, but
they may as well come straight from Lagos with a big sound that
is pure AfroBeat.  Several of the band members were formerly
with the Daktaris, so they've definitely got the roots down.
Best of all they're teaming up with Bobby Matos AfroLatin Jazz
Ensemble.  Get ready to rock 'cause the beat will be strong!

http://www.afropulse.com/music/concerts/antibalas.html

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January Reviews

I have to say that January was a bit weak.  It seems that every
year the winter months don't attract many Africans.  It is just
too cold for them to want to come here.

After a rocking New Year's with Orlando Owoh (Nigerian Yoruba
Highlife) playing on Dec 30 and Dodo Munoko (Conglese soukous)
on the Eve, we were too worn out to handle a stronger January
anyway.  Owoh was still going strong when we left San Bernadino
and started the 1 hour drive home at 4:00AM!  His voice was as
sweet as palm wine on a hot day, but it paled to the few bars
of guitar picking he did to show the hired hand which song he
wanted played.  I wish he would've taken the guitar and kept it
because he can cut those strings good!  Dodo gave his usual
strong dance routine for a packed house of 100+ people at
Zanzibar West the next night (again we left at 4:00AM).

So it certainly was a week into January before I was looking to
head out again.  Ricardo is back playing a regular gig at the
Conga Room, but I was looking for something else when I wandered
into the Kaos room in Lemeirt Park on the 12th.  What I found
was a jam session of some seasoned veterans -- the best sound
I have heard since Richard Bona (Cameroonian jazz) was in town a
couple years ago.  There were 12 people in the band and 20 in
the audience, but that just meant most of the world was missing
a great show.  One by one the sax, trombone, trumpet, and congas
would take turns doing solos, improvising a jazzy highlife beat.
Remi Kabaka (Ghana/Nigeria) heads the band with his talking drum
and Jerri Jhetto's (Nigeria) bass plus Najite's (Nigeria) congas
keep a strong undercurrent for the music to float about in.
Remi and Najite come from the early days of Fela Kuti when
AfroBeat was being defined and Jerri used to play with King
Sunny Ade, Manu Dibango, and Sonny Okosuns.  Jerri started his
own in the late 90's and has released two CDs but plays bass and
drums for other bands in addition to singing for his own (see
http://www.jerrijheto.com/).

Watch for these guys as they get out of the jam sessions and
start doing live gigs in preparation for a recording.  They
will be one hot band once they get rolling!

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Summer Sneak Preview

We can't spill the beans yet, but get ready for some big names
that don't come through here often if at all.  The finest summer
event always is the Grand Performances at the California Plaza
downtown.  Free concerts all summer during lunch and in the
evenings.  Last year we saw Papa Wendo (grandfather of Congolese
Rumba), Tarika (modernized traditional music from Madagascar),
Eugene de Coque (Nigerian Igbo Highlife), and Hugh Masakela
(South African jazz).  The venue is probably the best sound and
sight in town because of its size, openness, and lighting
accompanied by the backdrop of the watercourt fountains.  The
lineup always features music from around the world including
more than just the African continent, but most of the best
African shows of the year occur on that hallowed stage. This
summer the plaza will showcase stars from North Africa, Mali,
and Cuba but I'm not at liberty to divulge who just yet.

Lots of people like the Hollywood Bowl, although it is a bit
large for my taste, so I have to include a preview from there:
Angelique Kidjo (Benin) and Baaba Maal (Senegal) together.
That should be a powerful show because both of them have a
strong presence.  Angelique has merged the traditional village
songs, expert drummers, and American rock and pop to create her
sound.  Maal has been a champion performer, one of the most
visible touring acts from Africa for the last five years.  His
voice is intense enough to shatter the Bowl, so for once it may
not swallow up the performer.

Of course, the Bowl also hosts the Playboy Jazz Festival in the
spring and this year Femi Kuti (Nigerian AfroBeat) will return
to be part of that show.  He gave a good performance at the Bowl
last fall with Maceo Parker, so watch for him to improve on that
stage as he gets to know it better.

Nnamdi's annual African Village show is expanding this year into
a full week of events!  It will occur the last week of July and
end with a big show at the Ford Amphitheatre on August 4.  In
between watch for fashion shows, film parties, and other
activities.  Listen to Radio Afrodicia on Saturdays from
3:00-5:00PM (KPFK 90.7FM) to hear updates and to get the latest
new music from Africa.  [Once you set your dial on Saturday you
might as well spin over to 88.9FM KXLU at 6:00PM to hear Big Red
and Ade James deliver pure African music on Groove Time.]

Check http://www.afropulse.com/music/radio/ for a listing of
radio and internet shows featuring African music.

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Until next month, keep your ear to the ground for the latest
sound, and let me know if you find out about any shows that are
not listed on our site.  I'll see you at Prince Eyango's show
on February 28!

jay