Search - Tony Allen :: Home Cooking

As the drummer and bandleader of Fela Kuti?s mighty Africa 70, Tony Allen was the guy who figured out how to fuse Fela?s love of jazz, funk and African high life music into the unstoppable groove known as Afro-beat. Since the ?80s, Allen?s solo work is probably the most cutting edge stuff in the genre, these days bringing in elements of London hip-hop, Jamaican dub, electronic music, and anything else that catches his fancy. As always, Allen?s drums chitter-chatter with a pulsing kick drum, syncopated snare, and accented cymbals. He?s joined by regular bassist Cesar Anot and guitarist Jeff Kellner as well as a variety of keyboardists, rappers, and singers (Blur?s Damon Albarn appears on opening track "Every Season"). Allen?s own deep-throated voice sounds as cool as ever as he chants such political catch phrases as "Don?t take my kindness for weakness." All in all, this is a deeply funky album that reveals the evolving possibilities of Afro-beat while maintaining its staunch stance as political music. --Tad Hendrickson