The Lafayette Afro Rock Band -

The Lafayette Afro Rock Band was a Paris-based American funk band that sprung from the Bobby Boyd Congress. After Boyd’s return to the US, they cut one album as Ice and adopted the “Lafayette Afro Rock Band” moniker for the 1974/75 albums Soul Makossa and Malik. They reverted back to Ice and also recorded as Captain Dax and Crispy & Co.

Members: Larry Jones (guitar), Lafayette Hudson (bass), Frank Abel (keyboards), Ronnie James Buttacavoli (horns), Arthur Young (horns, percussion), Ernest “Donny” Donable (drums), Keno Speller (percussion)

Background

The band formed in 1970 in Roosevelt, Long Island, as the Bobby Boyd Congress, led by singer/saxophonist Bobby George Boyd, who cut two Sixties-era singles. Congress featured guitarist Larry Jones, bassist Lafayette Hudson, keyboardist Frank Abel, drummer Ernest “Donny” Donable, and percussionists Keno Speller and Arthur Young, who doubled on horns along with Ronnie James Buttacavoli.

By 1971, as funk bands proliferated in America, Bobby Boyd Congress moved to Paris, a less-saturated market. Here, they absorbed the double-step rhythms of the local Afro-French musicians. Their one album appeared that year on Vadim Music. Soon after, Boyd returned to the US.

The others remained in Paris. After a brief spell as Soul Congress, they chose the name Ice. They performed in the city’s Afro-dense Barbès district. Their act impressed producer Pierre Jaubert, the owner of Parisound Studio. He hired them as his house band and produced their first Ice album, Each Man Makes His Destiny, released in 1973 on Kedzie Records, a French label with Continental distribution via Musicdisc. At Jaubert’s suggestion, they changed their name to the Lafayette Afro Rock Band.

Soul Makossa

The first Lafayette Afro Rock Band album, Soul Makossa, appeared in 1974 on Musidisc. It features the much-covered “Hihache” and the popular title-track, a recent international hit for Cameroon saxist Manu Dibango. In the US, the album appeared on the New York label Editions Makossa under the title Voodounon.

The album emphasizes extended instrumental funk with layered percussion, thick bass, and stretched passages for horns, guitar, and keyboards. It contains their most enduring track, “Hihache,” along with a cover of the title song, originally popularized by Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango.

Keyboardist Frank Abel, bassist Lafayette Hudson, guitarist Larry Jones, percussionist Keno Speller, drummer Ernest “Donny” Donable, trumpeter Ronnie Buttacavoli, and multi-instrumentalist Arthur Young are all present. Abel composed “Azeta,” Hudson wrote “Nicky,” Young contributed “Voodounon,” and Leroy Gomes wrote “Hihache.” Michael McEwan supplied “Oglenon.” Jones co-wrote the 2009 CD bonus track “M.F. Grayson” with Buttacavoli, who also co-wrote the other bonus, “Right Foot,” with Young.

The six main tracks alternate between taut rhythmic workouts and longer, exploratory pieces. “Hihache” opens with a stark bass-and-drum figure that sets up circling horn lines and cutting guitar leads. The cover of “Soul Makossa” leans into clipped guitar phrasing and hand percussion accents, while “Azeta” and “Nicky” highlight organ textures and circular bass motifs. “Oglenon” stretches into extended interplay, and “Voodounon” layers chant-like horn patterns against quick percussive shifts.

A1. “Soul Makossa” (4:20)
A2. “Azeta” (5:50)
A3. “Oglenon” (8:10)

B1. “Voodounon” (4:50)
B2. “Hihache” (6:50)
B3. “Nicky” (6:00)

2009 LP bonus tracks
A4. “M.F. Grayson” (2:44)
B4. “Right Foot” (2:52)

Sessions took place at Parisound Studio in Paris with producer Philippe Thomas, founder of Musidisc-Europe, who also handled engineering.

Malik

The second Lafayette Afro Rock Band album, Malik, appeared in 1975 on America Records, a subsidiary of Musidisc. It features the oft-sampled “Darkest Light” and makes prominent use of the talk box and the Univox Super-Fuzz. The album also appeared in the US in 1976 on Editions Makossa.

The seven tracks merge funk, Afrobeat, and Latin elements with heavy percussion, extended horn passages, and distorted guitar overlays. Vocals appear briefly on “Conga,” but most of the material is instrumental.

Keyboardist Frank Abel composed “Baba Hya” and co-wrote “Djungi” with Arthur Young and Donny Donable. Bassist Lafayette Hudson contributed “Conga.” Drummer Donable wrote the title track, and trumpeter Young co-wrote “Avi-Vo” with Ronnie James. Leroy Gomes supplied “Raff,” while Michael McEwan wrote “Darkest Light.”

The opening “Djungi” layers call-and-response horn bursts over interlocking percussion and organ phrases. “Darkest Light” builds from a slow saxophone lead into a dense, hypnotic pace, later becoming one of the band’s most sampled tracks. “Conga” centers on vocal chants against steady conga lines and circular bass figures. “Baba Hya” stretches with alternating keyboard runs and trumpet lines, while “Malik” pushes into fuzzed-out guitar with talk box accents.

A1. “Djungi” (5:32)
A2. “Raff” (3:11)
A3. “Conga” (4:48)
A4. “Avi-Vo” (3:36)

B1. “Malik” (4:53)
B2. “Darkest Light” (6:15)
B3. “Baba Hya” (5:19)

2003 CD bonus tracks
8. “I Love Music” (7:11)
9. “Djungi (Alternate Version)” (3:06)
10. “Raff (Alternate Version)” (3:16)

Sessions took place in Paris with producer Pierre Berjot for Musidisc-Europe.

The cover features photography by De La Tremblay.

Other Activity

The band reverted to Ice for the 1974 Musidisc title Afro Agban (The Afro-Instrumental LP).

Under multiple group names (Krispie and Company, Wall of Steel, New City Jam Band) they cut the 1975 Kedzie title Tonight at the Discotheque, billed as a “various artists” release. That year, Kedzie issued the third Ice album, Frisco Disco. Meanwhile, the Crispy & Co. moniker appeared on four 1975/76 singles and the undated album Funky Flavored.

Also in 1975, they backed American jazz pianist Mal Waldron on the unreleased album Candy Girl. Concurrently, they backed Sunnyland Slim on the American blues pianist’s 1975 album Depression Blues, released in France on Disques Festival.

As Captain Dax, they cut a one-off 1976 single: “Dr. Beezar Soul Frankenstein” (b/w “Loosin’”), a Japan-only release on Overseas Records. They reverted again to Ice for the 1977 albums Thumpin’ and Seven Americans In Paris, both released on French RCA.

In 1978, the members returned to the US and parted ways. The French Superclasse label issued Afon: 10 Unreleased Afro Funk Recordings (1971-1974), a two-record compilation billed to the Lafayette Afro Rock Band.

Discography: