Thursday
Oct 11
2007
Felabration: A Celebration Of Fela
A celebration of the life of *Fela*
Femi Abosede hosts musicians direct from Nigeria together with Canadian Afrobeat artists for a night of music and images to honour the life and work of Fela Anikulapo Kuti - marking ten years since the passing of this musical and political giant.
Multi-instrumentalist, composer, activist and political maverick, Fela was the pioneer of Afro-beat and hero to millions. His powerful and prophetic lyrics mocked the authorities, condemned police brutality and spoke up for the rights of ordinary people. This advocacy resulted in vilification, harassment and imprisonment by the Nigerian Government.
In the late 50s and early 60s, Fela gained notoriety as a singer with the highlife group Cool Cats. During this period Kuti developed his unique sound which he described as highlife-jazz. In 1968 Kuti announced the arrival of Afro-beat& and within the year embarked on a 10-month tour of the US where he was deeply influenced by American jazz. When he returned to Nigeria he opened the famous Shrine nightclub. His band Africa 70 (later called Egypt 80) traditionally included the typical huge line-up consisting of many singers and dancers, numerous saxophonists, trumpeteers, drummers, percussionists and many guitarists blending African rhythms and jazz horn lines with politicized song lyrics.
About Femi Abosede
As a youth, Abosede was introduced to Fela and spent much of his time as a teenager at his infamous Shrine and Kalakuta compound. There, Abosede experienced Fela's vibrant attacks on governmental hypocrisy, his support of the pan-African struggle for liberation, and most of all, his propulsive, life-enhancing music.
Abosede says, "Just by my observing him, Fela taught me to work tirelessly and passionately on my craft. It is my own music, but Fela helped me open my eyes to world conditions, and find my own voice to speak on them."
Passionate and outspoken, Abosede refused to be silenced by political bureaucracy, and in the mid-80's left his homeland for England. There, he pawned his keyboard for a saxophone and taught himself to play. Later, in 1989, he moved to the United States and began playing with Ghanaian reggae group, Culture Shock. Finally moving to Toronto, he formed the Culture Force band in 1999, to play raw Afrobeat at its best.
Tickets available at www.ticketweb.ca starting on Tuesday, August 28th. Please note that advance ticket sales end at noon on October 11th, but a dinner reservation will guarantee you a ticket at the advance price as well as a table and seating.
Also playing: Sol Torres: www.myspace.com/soltorres
Links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6924454.stm
www.felaproject.net
http://www.mgam.com/artists/femi/bio.html
Click on the video to see Femi's last performance at Lula!
