Hear nine tracks that sum up the drumming genius of the late, great Tony Allen, from early classics with Fela Kuti and Africa '70 to later team-ups like the Good, the Bad and the Queen
“Gentleman” opens with a long, lonely horn solo; the band doesn’t join the fun for more than two minutes. Allen counts his bandmates in with a sharp, steady thump, then recedes. The brass section takes the lead, alternating between thick, unison passages and curling single lines; Allen is content to tap out morse-code–like pitter-patter beneath and around the horns.
As heard on “Ise Nila,” Allen’s inimitable time sense, at once urgent and consummately laid-back, is fully intact, providing a velvety cushion for a rich melange of horns, guitars, and auxiliary percussion. The track lasts just over five minutes but could easily sprawl out to the jumbo running times favored by Africa ’70 without losing the slightest bit of intrigue.
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