Mulatu Astatke - New York-Addis-London - The Story Of Ethno Jazz 1965-1975 (Strut - 2009)

Mulatu Astatke - New York Addis London The Story Of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975

Its music scene is not what comes to mind first when you think about Ethiopia. It brings more back dramatic memories of colonial wars, Emperor Haile Selassie or 80's starvings and Band Aid concerts. But Ethiopia gave as well birth in the 60's to one of the most prolific musical scene of Africa with a bunch of talented young musicians mixing African music music with Western influences. If you are intererested in this scene, the famous Ethiopiques albums serie is just for you. Educated in England and the US, Mulatu Astatke created his own quartet and ethio jazz, an hypnotic combination of traditionnal Ethiopian melodies with Western instrumentation. His records are still pretty hard to find and this compilation is blessing to get a hand on his best tracks. Mulatu Astatke recently acquired a new fame when Damian Marley sampled Yegelle Tezeta for his project with Nas, As We Enter. Oh No used that song as well on Great Oracle, a track released on his instrumental Ethiopian music influenced projet, Ethiopium. Backpackers Oddisee use the song on Khartoum. Mulatu Astatke traces (Kasalefkut Hulu) can be found on 8Ball's Pure Uncut and K'Naan's ABC. Other Mulatu songs have been used as well but you won't find them on this compilation.

Pharoah Sanders - Karma (Impulse! - 1969)

Pharoah Sanders - Karma

Difficult to comment a record that has been already described numerous times by jazz specialist and for very good reasons like a masterpiece even for a soul and funk head like me. Karma is made of only two songs: a 32'42" psychedelic ride called The Creator Has A Master Plan and the only 5'37 long Colors. With the help of Leon Thomas on vocals and percusion and Lonnie Liston Smith on Piano, The Creator Has A Master Plan starts like a sultry repetition of the soulful main theme built around Pharoah Sanders saxophone. Then the voice of Leon Thomas comes in before the song falls into noisy bruitist and abstract chaos for several long minutes to finally come back to the main theme. This shit just grabs your mind, even if you're not high and definitely propels you into another world.

The Zapp & Roger Anthology - We Can Make You Dance (Warner Bros./Rhino - 2002)

The Zapp & Roger Anthology CD 1

The Zapp & Roger Anthology CD 2

If the Troutman brothers wouldn't have existed, nor P-Funk nor West Coast gansta rap would have been the same. Discovered by, guess who, Georges Clinton himself, the band led by Roger Troutman, rapidly acquired a major status amongst funk players. Zapp live shows, for those lucky to watch them, were unique moments of funky madness while their infectious singles, even if not that successful outside the R&B charts, set the definition of black music for the next decades: a strong emphsis on the drum and bass lines, the use of talkbox, easy texts and infectious chorus. Sounds kind like the definition of R&B today right? Zapp and Roger have been so much sampled, especially More Bounce To The Ounce, that using their songs is now the ultimate music production cliché. Dre gave to Cesar what belongs to Cesar revitalizing Roger career by offering him the chance to sing the hook of 2Pac's hit California Love in 1996. The saddest thing in Zapp glorious story is the end with the violent and mysterious death of Roger and Larry Troutman in 1999 by gunshots. This anthology selects the 29 best tracks from Roger Troutman's various incarnations: The Human Body, Zapp, Roger and H-Town. This is a must.