RE: African info?


Mark Turner (nugroove@pacbell.net)
Wed, 10 Nov 1999 23:57:53 -0800



> >I dont know how true this is. Fela was making music way before the 70s
> >funk days. Though he probably was influenced by the Jazz more. In fact Id
> >say his works are less like funk and more like jazz...though whats in a
> >name eh?
>
> Huh? The first Fela recordings (under his own name, anyway-- I'm sure he
> could've been playing horn in other outfits) I've ever heard of were from
> '68-
> '69 (the London & L.A. sessions), & they are already very much betraying
> the influence of JB & black power philosophy-- ie, more funk than jazz.

Although Fela's recorded output before '68/'69 is scarce, it is generally
acknowledged that his earliest influences were Nigerian highlife music and
jazz. In the late 50's/early 60's, Fela was enrolled at the Trinity School
of Music in London, and jamming with the likes of trad jazz player Chris
Barber, as well as Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. For what it's worth, Fela
has said many times that James Brown stole HIS music, rather than vice
versa.

______________________________________________
Mark Turner
nugroove@pacbell.net <-- "nu" email address!

Hear "Jazzadelica" with Rocky Rococo on KFJC
Sundays 10pm-2am, 89.7 FM, Los Altos Hills, CA
______________________________________________



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu Nov 11 1999 - 09:04:15 MET