FELA BIO BACK IN PRINT!

First published in French and then in English back in 1982, this recently re-issued authorized biography of the late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti by Carlos Moore IS FINALLY BACK IN PRINT!

A biography of Fela based many hours of first-hand conversation with the Afrobeat superstar and firebrand political presence -- written by Carlos Moore and featuring a forward by Gilberto Gil! It's an authorized biography of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti -- the fearless international musical figure whose legend has only increased since his passing and rightly so -- and it's essentially told in his own voice! Paperback, 290 pages. Available at Dusty Groove.

DIGGIN' CHICAGO - WINDY CITY CRATES: COMMON X DILLA X TONY ALLEN = HEAT

Dilla lifted the drums from a then one year old Tony Allen cut ('Asiko') for 'Heat', from Common's 2000 album, Like Water For Chocolate. Heat is right, damn! If you don't know the original cut by Allen, do yourself a favor and click the link above. It comes from Tony Allen's 'comeback' Black Voices album from 1999 - a classic in its own right. (Well you know Dilla was always on some real sh*t!)

Classic Common. Classic Hip Hop. Classic Chi-tilla Crates.

TINARIWEN LIVE IN CHICAGO 06/17/10

Hailing from northern Mali, Tinariwen played their blistering blues-styled Arabic music on Thursday June 6 at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion for the 'Music Without Borders' series. Showcasing their guitar-driven in the style known as assouf; Tinariwen set the mood for the upcoming Blues Festival in Chicago.






CHECK OUT THE PROMO VIDEO FOR THEIR NEW ALBUM.

The Master in the House, Mr Tony Allen!

We were truly blessed Monday night by the presence of Tony Allen and his entire band! No secret The Shrine is named after Fela's original Lagos nightclub, so to have Tony in the building was an honor and sort of brings it full circle. The Shrine hosted the official after-party and the crowd and the band were on the dance floor getting down! Of course the battery died on the camera...! Hopefully we can dig up a few more shots.

TONY ALLEN LIVE IN CHICAGO 06/14/10

Tony Allen with his explosive band headlined for the 'Monday Night In The Park/Downtown Sound: New Music Mondays' at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion on Monday, June 14. Afterwards, Tony and his band visited The Shrine for the Official Afterparty that showcased his latest cd 'Secret Agent' on Nonesuch.

TONY ALLEN AT THE SHRINE!

The man who is the beat of Afrobeat, former Fela Kuti drummer and bandleader, will AT at The Shrine tonight Monday, June 14th. Right after his show in Millenium Park, Tony will be our very special guest for the official after-party! DJs Tone B. Nimble, King Scratch and Clark Quente spin the best of Tony and the heaviest in Nigerian sounds. Loads of giveaways, including posters, CDs and more. This is really history in the making. We couldn't be more honored to have Tony Allen bless us with a visit! Doors open at 9pm.



Rare PSYCO ON THE BUS track 2001

WINDY CITY CRATES 4: FELA + JORGE BEN = CHICAGO

A double post, as one of the tracks was only mastered in Chicago, but the group is a Chi-tilla homegrown giant AND it's a Fela Kuti cover. Up first is the Art Ensemble of Chicago's take on 'Zombie' from their 'Ancient To The Future: Dreaming Of The Masters Series Vol.1' album released in 1987 in Japan only. Side one is all original compositions by the group, while side two is all covers; Jimi Hendrix, Duke Ellington, Bob Marley, Otis Redding and Fela! The CD can be tracked down, good luck finding the record!



LISTEN: ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO: ZOMBIE



Next up is Odell Brown with his version of the Jorge Ben classic 'Mas Que Nada' from his 1967 album "Mellow Yellow', recorded right here in the South Loop at Mar Ten studios! Wicked soul jazz organ workout clocks in at just over seven minutes! The most covered Brazilian song of all time, there are literally hundreds of versions of 'Mas Que Nada'! Dig covers?!?!? Of course you do! Check out more covers of 'Mas Que Nada' and other songs at Versions Galore! CLICK HERE

BRAZIL ON FILM / SIMONAL: YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TOUGH IT WAS

When Wilson Simonal sings, “Girls in miniskirts are cool,” and a colorful photomontage splashes tropical club-hopping 1960s Rio de Janeiro across the screen, you’ll want to jump up and dance. But a drama of classical proportions ultimately unfolds in this exploration of the spectacular rise and infamous fall of the undisputed king of Brazilian popular music. A towering and much-beloved presence—no other black entertainer in Brazil had his own television show or performed so many concerts—Simonal held his (mostly white) audience in the palm of his hand. Archival footage shows Simonal—smooth, satirical and sarcastic—as he sings and hobnobs with a stream of celebrities, including memorable moments with an evidently smitten Sarah Vaughn. But a military dictatorship ruled his country ruthlessly, with daily arrests, torture and murder. Simonal enlisted the dreaded National Information Service to resolve a dispute with his accountant and then, whether from arrogance or naïveté, declared he was one of them. True or not, his career was finished. Family members, musician contemporaries like Paulo Moura and Tony Tornado, football legend Pelé, journalists, editors and television producers all give voice to the cultural and political complexities of the period, while addressing vital questions: Was Simonal a tropical happy face for repression and censorship? Were his critics ideologues and racists? Was he self-destructive? Even the abused accountant weighs in. From this masterful, multifaceted account emerges a modern-day Icarus, his downfall coming only after ascension to the dizziest heights of fame.

—Kathleen Denny

SEE A CLIP FROM THE FILM: CLICK HERE

SKATEBOARDING IN UGANDA

Kitintale from Yann Gross on Vimeo.

Did you like the video? do you want to support the Ugandan skateboarders ?
Help them to expand the park and re-fix the mini-ramp!
Paypal account : skateboardugandadonate@yahoo.com

Lagos to Chicago - Shrine 101

Now lots of people are already in the know, but some folks may not be aware that The Shrine owes its name to Fela Kuti, or simply Fela as he is known to millions of fans worldwide. Fela (1938-1997) was a Nigerian born multi-instumentalist, composer, political and human rights activist. He was a pioneer of Afrobeat music, a fusion of African rhythms with jazz and funk. Fela regularly performed with his band, Nigeria '70 at his personal nightclub, The Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria. Lagos to Chicago. The name is in homage to The Original Black President, Mr. Fela Kuti.

Fela kicked out the jams in his all too short lifetime. Here is a short list of essential Fela or Fela related albums.... In no particular order.

Fela Kuti - Expensive Sh*t (1975) Contains 'Water No Get Enemy' This will cause a riot on the dance floor - ask Timbuck2

Fela Kuti - He Miss Road (1975) Produced by Cream drummer Ginger Baker. (Who also recorded two records with Fela worth checking. One under each man's name respectively.)

Fela Kuti - Zombi (1977) Fela rips the Nigerian army for brainwashing its soldiers..."Music is the weapon"

Fela Kuti & Roy Ayers - Music of Many Colors (1980) Contains '2000 Black'. Afrobeat meets Ayers funky jazz vibes - classic!

Fela Kuti - Lagos Baby 1963-69 (2008) Compilation shows the evolution of sound from Highlife to Afrobeat with his original Koola Lobitos band.

Fela Kuti - Shakara (1971) With 'Lady' and 'Shakara', long time fan favorites. The cover is worth price alone.

Tony Allen - No Discrimination (1979) Fela's funky drummer and band leader for twelve years. (He was relpaced with FOUR drummers.) Contains 'Love Is A Natural Thing'. Afrobeat with some squishy synth lines ala Parliament.

Tony Allen - Black Voices (1999) Tony comes back with a modern dubbed out sound with bits of electronics and Parliament's Mike 'Cop' Payne & Gary 'Mudbone' Cooper, too.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - Seun Kuti & Fela's Egypt 80 (2008) Fela's son continues the Afrobeat sound with his father's band. He is monster live too, just like dad!

Femi Kuti - African Shrine (2004) Femi cooks on this live set with both originals and a cover of his father's 'Water get No Enemy'!

Tough Jazz One! DJ 'Cosmic' Clark Quente

Tough Jazz One - Sound Tracks Real & Imagined (A Mix by 'Cosmic' Clark)

I was thinkin' about jazz and the movies (And a mix made a while back) and most of my favorite films have killer sound tracks. A great sound track can lift a seemingly banal scene or film into the stratosphere and inject it with emotion, context and meaning. Jazz, at it's best (or uh, cosmic), can create films inside your imagination, literally 'taking you on a trip'. Sometimes you gotta' go deep...

Buddy Collette opens with 'My Funny Valentine', from a rare LP recorded in Italy with the Basso/Valdambrini Quintet. (Sublime flute work by Collette.) Next up is the Clarke-Bolland Big Band with 'Un Graso de Areia', featuring Sahib Shihab. (What's the latin phrase for "chase scene"?) Remo Usai follows with 'Tema de Boca de Ouro', the theme to the classic Brazilian fillm BOCA DE OURO by Nelson Rodrigues. Sinister and dark to match the film. Mario Schiano takes us back to Italy and the vanguard for 'Supra Monte'. More Brazilian obscurities follow, one via Nigeria. Afrocult's 'Tema de Deusa Negra' is the title track to the the film DEUSA NEGRA. The film featured an all Brazilian cast, but was directed by Nigerian director, Ola Balogun. Afrocult is made up of members of Fela Kuti's band and Monomono! Deep, spirtitual Afro jazz. Next is Tribo Masahi's 'Walk By Jungle' Trippy. Beatnicks in Rio de Janeiro?! The mix closes with some funky fusion from Argentina (Chivo Barraro's 'Mi Amigo Tarzan') and brings it back home to Chicago with The Awakening's 'Kera's Dance'. ENJOY.

Tough Jazz One - 'Cosmic' Clark

THE FUNKY DRUMMER (THE BEAT IN AFROBEAT)

You can't talk about Fela or The Shrine without talking about Fela's original drummer and band leader Tony Allen! Of course we have to go back to the crates and pull out the records... Besides crucial recordings with Fela, Allen has released a grip of his own records dating from the mid-70s to two brand new albums dropping this past year. His beats have been continuously sending ripples through the music world for forty years. Masters of Work, Bobbito, Spinna & Ron Trent are just a few who have offered up re-mixes or edits of Fela/Tony Allen material from the 70s. J Dilla only went back a year when he sampled Allen's 'Asiko' (1999) for Common on the cut 'Heat' on his 2000 album LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE.


His first four records (1975-79) are available as a double CD entitled AFRO DISCO BEAT from Spain's Vampi Soul label. As powerful as any of the Fela records, this is Afro Beat straight, no chaser. Long jams with low end rumble, blazing horns and funky keys all riding atop Tony snaking drums. In the 80s he continued playing and touring and appearing sporadically on albums by various artists from Randy Weston to Grace Jones.


In 1999 Allen re-emerged with the BLACK VOICES album. Produced in Paris, where he now lives, the album saw Allen branching out and embracing new styles, most notably Electronica and Dub. (Well not all new, he'd already recorded with Jamaican saxophone giant Cedric 'IM' Brooks) The album brought him a new generation of listeners, who may have been unaware of his roots with Fela. Re-mixes followed as well as the Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble - a series of a 12" singles based on Allen's drum patterns produced by a host of young beat makers and producers.


He seems to be making up for lost time, releasing a handful of records of his own and appearing on countless records by other artists. After mixing funk & hip hop on 2002's HOME COOKING he has gone back to playing more traditional Afro Beat but continues to push the boundaries collaborating with and recording with divergent groups like Awa Band, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (represent Chicago!), The Good The Bad & The Queen & Charlotte Gainsbourg to name a few.


Tony is bringing more heat this year with his own 'Secret Agent Man' album as well as 'Inspiration Information Vol. 4' with Jimi Tenor. If you have not seen the man play live, check the promo film for his newest album below...