Kuti, Fela -& His Koola Lobitos-
Fela Ransome Kuti & His Koola Lobitos (clear)
Repress on clear vinyl! In early 1965, just as the West African high-life scene was starting to get boring, the revolutionary sound of Fela Ransome Kuti & His Koola Lobitos burst upon us. A strikingly original musician, Fela Kuti was trained at the Trinity College of Music in London. From the very first, he was influenced by those "greats" of the jazz world - Thad Jones and Miles Davis. He gained much practical experience gigging in his spare time with London-based jazz men. A very talented musician - Fela's primary instrument is the trumpet, but he is also a swinging pianist and rave vocalist, as well as a composer and arranger. A musician's musician. To maintain his reputation as West Africa's leading musician, Fela continuously experimented with varying forms of high-life and other exotic rythmic patterns. The results of these experiments are evident on all the numbers on this LP. Even the old familiar tunes have that new and original high-life tempo that Fela has made his own. Many so-called original bands have found fleeting success on the West African scene - only to fade quickly into obscurity, but Fela's extreme talent has made him one of its perennial stars.