Jaiyede Afro＜Transparent Vinyl＞

伝説のマエストロ : オーランド・ジュリアス驚愕の2014年作がクリア盤で復刻!!
60年代に自身のバンド、モダン・エージスと共に、USのソウル・ミュージックと伝統的なハイライフをフュージョンさせた超名盤『SuperAfro Soul』で、アフロビートやアフロ・ファンクの雛形を作ったアフロ・ファンク・ソウル・マスター、オーランド・ジュリウス。ナイジェリアを飛び越え、ルイ・アームストロングや、クルセイダーズ、ラモン・ドジャーといったミュージシャンとも共演しアフロビートの枠を越えて次世代に影響を与えた伝説が、ロンドン拠点の現行アフロファンクバンドにして、過去にムラトゥ・アストゥケやロイド・ミラーといった偉人とのコラボレーションでも話題を集めてきたザ・ヘリオセントリックスとコラボレーション!
自身のルーツに帰り、なんと過去に録音されたことのない楽曲もレコーディング!
65年にモダン・エーシズと共にリ・アレンジして演奏したこともある、彼の学校で歌われていたという伝統歌のM6「Omo Oba Blues」から、76年に作曲されるも、最後まで完成することがなかったというアフロビート・ジャムをついに完成させたM5「Be Counted」、1970年代に録音され、近年発掘され話題となった激レア作品『Orlando Julius And The Afro Sounders』収録曲にリ・ワーク/アレンジを施したM1「Buje Buje」とM3「Aseni」など、フェラ・クティに匹敵する強靭なアフログルーヴ!
単なる回顧作ではなく、ザ・ヘリオセントリックスの手によって、モダンなサウンドが加えられているところもナイス。JBの69年の名曲In The Middleのアフロファンクなカヴァーは全音楽ファン必聴!

Nigerian musical innovator Orlando Julius made his reputation internationally in the mid-'60s with his smash album Super Afro Soul. Fela Kuti was actually in Julius' band, the Modern Aces, playing trumpet before leaving -- with a few of the band's members -- to form Koola Lobitos. Julius relocated to the United States for a time in the '70s, where, as O.J. Ekemode, he worked with everyone from Louis Armstrong and Lamont Dozier to Hugh Masekela and the Crusaders before returning to Africa. Though active on the concert front, Julius hasn't made a recording of material since the '80s. London's space funk pioneers the Heliocentrics, led by drummer Malcolm Catto, are, for lack of a better word, specialists in drawing out legendary personas -- they've cut collaborative albums with Mulatu Astatke, Lloyd Miller, and Melvin Van Peebles. Jaiyede Afro was recorded at their North London studio. It contains early compositions that have never been previously recorded, stomping rearrangements of classics, and some new tunes. Opener "Buje Buje" initially appeared on Orlando Julius & the Afro Sounders, issued back in 1973; it's far sleeker here. The breakbeat-driven groove features Julius' alto puncturing the backbeat with serpentine accents amid taut guitars and a bubbling, dubwise bassline. His vocals have lost none of their power over the decades, either. "Aseni" is pure, steamy, floor-grinding Afro-funk with a tough front horn line and killer hi-hat work by Catto. The title cut melds layers of hand percussion, drum kit, a rubbery bassline, spacy wafting organ, and angular guitar vamps. Julius' sax solo signals a change in direction as a call-and-response encounter with a female chorus transforms this slow burner into one of the set's finest moments. There is a hell of a lot of reverb here, but for the most part it never overwhelms the proceedings. "Omo Oba Blues" is guitarless. It's a highlife tune that commences with vocals (lead and backing chorus) and percussion, but gradually gets an organ vamp in the backdrop; it increases in dynamic and tempo before Julius delivers a piercing alto solo. "Be Counted" is a moaning, humid, and nocturnal jam with Julius and his singers entwining hypnotically before the horn section ruptures the driving Afro-beat that frames it. "In the Middle," an instrumental, is another cooking Afro-funk jam, combining African jazz, American funk, and Latin grooves; Julius displays his best sax of the album here. Jaiyede Afro marks a welcome return for Orlando Julius and overall is an excellent, fingerpopping, ass-shaking collaboration. ~ Thom Jurek