Manu Dibango (Dec., 12 1933 — March 24, 2020) was a Cameroonian saxophonist, malletist, and composer with a music career that spanned more than fifty years. In 1972 he cut the Afro-funk classic “Soul Makossa,” which became a much-covered, widely sampled global hit for the artist. Background Manu Dibango was born Emmanuel N’Djoké Dibango on […]
Osibisa are an Afro-funk/jazz-rock band formed in London by four Ghanaian and three Caribbean musicians. Between 1971 and 1976, they made eight albums on MCA, Warner Bros., and Island, including the soundtrack to the second installment of the Super Fly franchise. Their first three albums feature cover illustrations by fantasy painter Roger Dean (Yes, Uriah […]
Salty Dog was a Zambian rock quartet that cut two singles and a 1976 self-titled album on the local Zambezi label. Members: Norman Muntemba (vocals, bass, tambourine), Alex Mwilwa (drums), Hassan Hassan (drums), Jackie Mumba (guitar, vocals) Background Salty Dog formed in the mid-1970s in Zambia when bassist Norman Muntemba and guitarist Jackie Mumba renamed […]
Asiko was a Nigerian Afro-rock septet behind the 1976 EMI album Rock Group, followed by the 1977 Gorrilla release Take a Trip With Asiko. Members: Njoubi Basile (bass), Z. Joseph Bolandi (vocals, keyboards), Ntaillou Idrissou (guitar), Ndovmbe Jylvand (trumpet), Essombe Antoine Madie (vocals, percussion), Paul Monnu (drums), Evgene Ndema (guitar) Background Asiko converged in West […]
Witch was a Zambian zamrock band, formed circa 1971 and active fourteen years with seven albums on the ZMP, Teal, and Gallo labels. Their 1975/76 albums Lazy Bones!! and Lukombo Vibes drew foreign ears to the African nation’s zam/psych sound. Guitarist John Muma and bassist Gedeon Mulenga also appeared on the 1975 album Black Power […]
Ngozi Family was a Zambian zamrock band behind eight 1974–78 albums on ZMP and Chris Editions, two co-billed to drummer Chrissy Zebby Tembo. Their namesake, guitarist-singer Paul Ngozi, also recorded as a solo artist. Members: Paul Ngozi (lead guitar, vocals), Chrissy Zebby Tembo (drums, backing vocals), Tommy Mwale (bass, backing vocals), Peter Bwalya (rhythm guitar, […]
The Otis Waygood Blues Band was a Zimbabwean hard-rock/psych combo, active eleven years from 1968 in their adopted market of Johannesburg, South Africa. They made three albums on Parlophone circa 1970/71, culminating with Ten Light Claps and a Scream. Members: Martin Jackson (vocals, flute), Ivor Rubinstein (vocals, percussion), Rob Zipper (vocals, guitar, saxophone), Benny Miller […]
Michael Gibbs (born September 25, 1937) is a Rhodesian jazz-rock and Third Stream trombonist, keyboardist, composer, conductor, and producer. He attained bandleader status in 1970 after a decade of transcontinental jazz credits. Through 1975, he headed four jazz-rock/big band albums and released a collaborative set with vibraphonist Gary Burton. Gibbs later entered production and soundtrack […]
Tirogo was a Nigerian Afro-funk/psych band that released three albums between 1977 and 1980 on EMI. Their first album, Float, gained newfound popularity after its late-2000s reissues on Shadoks and QDK. In 2013, Afrobeat merchants Voodoo Funk selected the Tirago tracks “Disco Maniac” and “We Like to Party” — culled from the band’s 1978 Aiyé […]
Peter King (1939 – August 29, 2023) was a Nigerian Afrobeat musican who released four albums on Orbitone between 1975 and 1978 and a further two on Grandstar Records. During the 2000s, he became an icon of the Rare Groove community when his lost 1974 album Shango appeared for the first time on Afro Strut. […]
Ofege was a Nigerian Afro-psych band formed by Obalende teenagers. They made the 1973–75 EMI albums Try and Love and Last of the Origins, which drew international ears to the West African scene. On Polydor, they returned with the 1977/78 albums Higher Plane Breeze and How Do You Feel? Members: Melvin “Noks” Ukachi (vocals), Felix […]
Nkengas were a Nigerian highlife ensemble that released two albums in 1973 on Orbitone. The band subsequently morphed into the Ikenga Super Stars of Africa. Members: Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe (vocals), George Atomba, Linus Opara, Pele Asampete Background Nkengas formed in London in 1973 when lead guitarist Vincent Okoroego and several fellow members of the […]
The Mebusas were a Nigerian Afro-funk ensemble that issued the album Blood Brothers on Afrodisia in 1973. Members: Chike Emegokwe (saxophone, flute), Harry Udofia James (trumpet), Fuzzy Gbagi (tenor sax), Raimi Olalowo (trombone), Laja George (drums), Williams Okolie (guitar), Cyril (organ), George Neuville (vocals) Mebusas’ brass/woodwind players were ubiquitous on the West African scene. Harry […]
The Funkees were a Nigerian Afro-funk band that released five singles and the 1974–76 albums Point of No Return and Now I’m a Man. The band also co-headlined For You Specialy, a 1978 solo release by guitarist-vocalist Harry Mosco. Members: Harry Mosco (guitar, vocals, gong), Chyke Madu (drums, vocals), Sonny Akpabio (congas), Jake N. Sollo […]
Jake Sollo was a Nigerian guitarist who was active during the 1970s and early ’80s. He first recorded for Lagos psych-rock quintet The Hykkers, which released two singles on His Master’s Voice in 1971. This was followed by a lengthy stint in London-based Afro-funk group The Funkees, which recorded numerous singles and two albums over […]
Colomach was a Togolese Afro-funk band behind a self-titled 1974 album on EMI Nigeria. Background Colomach formed around northern Togolese musician Gneni Mamadou. Surviving accounts associate the group with Mali, while Mamadou came from the Sahelian region of northern Togo. Colomach played alongside Ghanaian cultural-rock contemporaries Hedzoleh Soundz and Edzayawa. Both groups combined regional traditional […]
Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927 — April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer who globally popularized Afro-beat with a 1960s Columbia album run. The following decade, he joined stateside Afro-jazz ensemble Ju Ju, which morphed into Oneness of Juju after two albums. In the wake of Manu Dibango‘s breakout Afro-funk success, Olatunji also cut the […]
Anthony Reebop Kwaku Baah (Feb. 13, 1944 – Jan. 12, 1983) was a Ghanaian percussionist who recorded five solo albums and did stints with several big-name jazz and rock acts on the U.S., U.K., and German scenes. He first appeared in 1968 on the album Out of the Frying Pan by English soul-jazz band Wynder K. Frog. […]
André Marie Tala (born Oct. 29, 1950) is a Cameroonian guitarist, percussionist, and vocalist who launched his career with the help of breakout local Manu Dibango. Tala cut multiple 1972/73 singles and led the Black Tigers before his Fiesta debut Hot Koki, then proliferated through the 1988 album Celle Qui T’a Aimé. Background André-Marie Tala […]
Ekambi Brillant (June 18, 1948 – December 12, 2022) was a Cameroonian singer who emerged with Les Cracks and followed his 1972 Philips single “Ngand’a Ba Iyo” with the 1975 Fiesta release Africa Oumba, his first of five albums through the 1984 title Musiki Too Hot. Background Ekambi Brillant was born Ekambi Ekambi Louis Brillant […]
Sweet Talks were a Ghanaian highlife ensemble that gained international listeners with their 1976 release The Kusum Beat and made a subsequent album in Los Angeles. They later performed as Super Sweet Talks. Members: A.B. Crentsil, Ben Appiah, Ekow Tuyee, Joe Mensah, Lord Sekyi, Pope Flyne, Prince Foster, Prince Kelly Koomson, Smart Nkansah, Solo Mensah, […]
Marijata was a Ghanaian Afro-funk trio that released three albums in 1976 and 1977 on Gapophone. The trio functioned as both a sovereign unit and the backing band of singer-guitarist Pat Thomas, who led them in his earlier band the Sweet Beans. Members: Kofi “Electric” Addison (drums), Bob Fischian (organ), Nat Osmanu (guitar) Background Marijata […]
Hedzoleh Soundz was a Ghanaian highlife/Afrobeat band that debuted as a backing act to South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela on a 1973 album for Blue Thumb Records. The band released their own album, simply titled Hedzoleh, on EMI later that same year. Guitarist Jagger Botchway surfaced in the Kelenkye Band. Members: Stanley Kwesi Todd (bass), […]
