A while ago Benn loxo listener extraordinaire, Fabian, sent me a vinyl rip of the Western Jazz Band’s album, Vigelegele.

I’ve had so much listening to catch-up on that I only got to it today.. and it’s amazing. I’d heard the first track, Rosa, before but it’s the the last track on the B-side, the one you’ll hear today, that blew me away.

The slight echo and distortion on the guitars gives this album’s music a special quality.

You might have already heard some Western Jazz Band from another album back in August when I did a post about Original Music’s Dada Kidawa, Sister Kidawa compilation.

You might have also heard them over at Steve Ntwiga’s great site – he posted a track from this album a couple months ago. Steve: I imagine we’re both on Fabian’s mailing list.

Sorry there’s no purchase link, but I think that this album has been out of print for quite some time and hasn’t been reissued.. yet.

Maybe I’ll see some of you tonight, maybe not, but regardless I hope you all have a good weekend. I think I’ll take a break for a couple days. See you Monday.

ps- Thanks, Fabian.

Western Jazz Band – Wana Saboso

Wow, busy week. Feeling a bit tired this morning. A little Zambian “you’ve done me wrong” acoustic by George Kazoka lifts me out of bed and into my mug of coffee.

Today we’ll hear music from yet another Original Music release that explores the various forms of music that were spawned by the acoustic guitar as it spread across Africa: Guitar Songs From Tanzania, Zambia & Zaire.

You know, I never was good at the guitar. Something about stringed instruments has always eluded me. Piano, percussion, horns, no problem. But for whatever reason my fingers could never quite work the frets the way they should. It’s a shame, really, because it’s such a portable and almost universal instrument. In my next life, I guess.

George Kazoka – Ulayinda Kubota

C’est vrai qu’on est assez loin du Congo.. but you could feel a little closer this Friday if you show up at the Heat Me Party at the Cannibale Café. I’ll be playing some African classics there from about 11:30pm until closing. If you’re in Paris this weekend stop by 93, rue JP Timbaud in the 11th.

If you can’t make it, pour yourself a little Bas Armagnac, get a fire going and throw on today’s Bantous de la Capitale track. It’s a little reminder that there’s much more to life than Lisie.

Bantous de la Capitale – Loin du Congo

One of my favourite strands of music from across the African continent is a variety of styles that employ the European acoustic guitar. Original Music’s compilation, African Acoustic: Sounds Eastern and Southern, as the name implies, explores just that in eastern and southern African countries.

My two favourite tracks are both from the East so we’ll hit some southern acoustic another day.

The first is by the Kikuyu Kenyan duo, Peter Kimuri and Patrick Roy Roger. The track’s title apparently translates into “Kirinyaga is Our Good”, refering to a legendary tribal founder.

The second track is by Somalian steel guitar player, Amin Xaaji Maxamed. We don’t get to hear Somalian music too often, and Maxamed’s oud-like guitar playing and Arab-influenced singing is great.

Patrick Roy Roger & Peter Kimuri – Kirinyaga Ni Igai Retu
Amin Xaaji Maxamed – Dakhtar

Nacio Makanda’s growling on the track Kerestina sounds like I feel this Monday morning. A pinch of grumpy, a dash of missing the weekend, with its beer, fish and wine.

Another Original Music post today on my quest to post it all. Today’s tracks come from the 30th OM release, Kerestina: Guitar Songs Of Southern Mozambique 1955-1957. It doesn’t get much more niche than that.

I’ve always liked music from Mozambique and the songs on this release are no exception. Easy going and jangly, plus I love the sound of the languages spoken in that part of the world.

Mozambique is on my places to visit short list so hopefully I’ll be able to bring you more Mozambican music first hand sometime in the future. In the meantime, five bucks to anyone who can pronounce the first track’s name five times fast.

Mahikwani Makhuvele – Hayilolosa Amale Ye Matshangana
Nacio Makanda – Kerestina

Konomo No. 1 are a great band to see live. The driving rhythms, on-stage dancers and general charisma of the group make for a great show.

I first saw them in Paris two and half years ago, then again at the Couleur Café that summer.

If you’re lucky enough to have a good audience around you as I did on both occasions their shows turn into big dance parties.

Konomo made a splash when they first hit the international scene, particularly in the burgeoning audioblog scene circa mid-2005. Since then the hype has died down a bit, but they’re still touring and releasing new stuff. Above all they’re still a great live act.

The generous people at Crammed recently sent me a live recording of their performance at the Couleur Café festival in Brussels, Belgium.

To the left, a shot of Belgium kids in the Couleur café 2006 audience.. sweaty dancing fun.

Konono No.1 – A.E.I.O.U

A couple tracks from another recent Rough Guide release: North African Café. As usual it’s a solid compilation, this time of music inspired by or coming directly from the café scene in North Africa and its outposts abroad.

Jean-Pierre Smadj is a French-Tunisian oud player who likes to mix up North African music. Today’s track is by his S.O.S. project, a collaboration between Smadj, Orhan Osman and Savas Zurnasi. It reminds me a lot of early Gotan Project.

Akli D is an Algeria-born, Berber musician who also likes to mix it up a bit, combining shaabi music and other Kabyle sounds with a variety of styles. Parisian readers might remember his group Les Rebeuhs Des Bois.

Manu Chao produced his latest album, Ma Yela, where today’s track comes from. I’ve been meaning to see him live for a while now but I’m never free when he’s playing. Soon, soon..

Smadj presents S.O.S. Project – Hat
Akli D – Barman

A few days ago we heard some 1960s highlife from Lagos.

Following the Nigerian civil war, or Biafran war for independence, depending on your history book, juju replaced highlife as the dominant musical force in Western Nigeria. While there were still a few Yoruba highlife musicians left in Lagos the dominant Igbo highlife stars had left town and juju musicians like Ebeneezer Obey were taking over.

Original Music’s 37th release, Lucky Stars Rosy Mornings, explores the exploding juju scene in Nigeria’s second city, Ibadan, located in western Nigeria, during the 1960s.

The compilation is filled with scratchy, lovely tunes that remind us how juju sounded before it sped up and got whacked over the head with a synth during the 1980s.

Professor Sunny Agaga & his Lucky Stars Band – Olorun Lomo Ola
F.A. Jimmy West & his Rosy Morning Band – Ijesha Ile

Long-time readers of Benn loxo will know that I have a thing for small, relatively unknown islands. Particularly those with a shaky or undefined political status. Rodrigues, Réunion, Seychelles, The Comoros.. and other places the late Bob Denard may have deposed a president.

You’ll imagine my smile, then, when a random playlist this morning turned up Oswin Chin Behilia, a singer/songwriter from the Netherlands Antilles.

These islands are nowhere near Africa, but hey, neither are Belize or Colombia. Plus they do share something in common with many African islands: good music, turbulent politics, and frequent change of ownership.

By December 2008 the Netherlands Antilles will no longer exist.

Oswin Chin Behilia is from the island of Curaçao which will become an autonomous nation within the Dutch kingdom along with Sint Maarten. Aruba pulled the same trick back in the 80s. The remaining islands, Saba, Bonaire, and Sint Eustatius, will be folded into the Netherlands around the same time – they’ll essentially be considered part of the Netherlands as “special” municipalities. Special, meaning everything but Dutch social security and a toleration for prostitution and homosexuality. Baby steps, I guess.

My question to Oswin: does this mean he’ll lose his knighthood from the Queen of the Netherlands?

Either way, hope you enjoy the music. He’s been playing music since the early 60s and continues to tour today so check him out if he ever comes through your town.. or just grab the album over at Calabash.

Oswin Chin Behilia – Bendishon Disfras

Easy-going, jangly palmwine guitar for a mid-week post.

On his Original Music release, African Elegant – Sierra Leone’s Kru/Krio Calypso Connection, John Storm Roberts explores the relationship between palmwine guitar music from Sierra Leone and Liberia and Trinidadian calypso brought to West Africa by sailors passing through Freetown in the late 19th century.

Ebenezer Calendar, the musician you’ll hear today, was called the “calypso king” in his native Freetown, Sierra Leone. He was the country’s most famous palmwine musician during the 1950s and, according to the liner notes, “seemed to be personally known to almost everyone in Freetown.” This made him an ideal candidate to sing about everyday life in the city, the core of any good krio/calypso/palmwine song’s lyrics.

Ebenezer Calender & his Maringar Band – Fire Fire Fire