2021 50th Anniversary Releases
2021 marks the 50th anniversary of two of Fela Kuti’s most beloved recordings, ‘London Scene’ as well as the legendary record he made with Ginger Baker of Cream. This fall, both albums will be reissued on vinyl via Partisan Records, with ‘London Scene’ coming out on November 5th, and ‘Live! With Ginger Baker’ coming out on November 19th. ‘Live!’ features audio remastered from the original tapes at Abbey Road Studios.
In addition, a newly unearthed second drum solo from Tony Allen and Ginger Baker taken from Afrika 70’s performance at the 1978 Berlin Jazz Festival is available to stream now. A separate Allen/Baker drum solo appears on previous versions of ‘Live! With Ginger Baker,’ but this second part has never been heard until now. Listen HERE.
1978’s Berlin Jazz Festival marked Afrika 70’s final live performance with Fela. In the Spring of 1979, several members of Afrika 70, including Allen, would leave the band. Allen had been with Fela since 1964. 1980 saw the birth of Egypt 80, with Baritone saxophonist Lekan Animashaun, who had been with Fela since 1965, as its founding bandleader.
