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| Tony Allen is gettin' ready to unveil his new hat to go with some hot fiddle licks for Col. Tom's Swinging Door today from 6 to 8 pm. |
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| You can watch a preview of Fiddlin' Tony's swank new chapeau in this recent performance with Meredith Moon right here. |
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| Banjo boss Chris Coole and fiddler deluxe Tony Allen revisit their Good Right Arm Stringband days with James McEleney tonight! |
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| Col. Tom Parker & pal Tony Allen reunite as the Innards Brothers for St. Pat's at Squirly's (807 Queen St. W) at 5 pm & 7 pm. |
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| Col. Tom is joined by his old Backstabblers co-hort Tony Allen for his Swinging Door hoedown at The Cameron from 6 to 8 pm. |
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| Here's Tony Allen, Colonel Tom Parker, Bob Hannan and the Backstabbers Country String Band in action nearly 20 years ago. |
The Backstabbers Country String Band
Canadian Corps Hall, 2005
1. Tuesday I Got Married (partial)
2. Sometimes She Forgets
3. Why Not Confess
4.Going Across the Sea
5. My Baby's Gone (partial)
The Backstabbers:
Bob Hannan vocals, guitar
Colonel Tom Parker vocals, mandolin
Kristine Schmitt vocals
Tony Allen vocals, fiddle
Sam Petite upright bass
Videography: T. Kelp
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| Remembering Tony Allen – the funky pulse of Afrobeat – with a a few majestically whumpin' performances. |
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| Here's Fela Kuti's full performance in Berlin with the great Tony Allen, Tunde Williams & Lekan Animashaun in Africa 70. |
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| The late Nigerian drumming dynamo Tony Allen – longtime Fela Kuti sideman – has an unreleased Jazz Is Dead session on the way. |
Here's the scoop from Jazz Is Dead...
Aside from traditional Yoruba Juju music, Tony Allen was enamoured with Jazz, particularly the recordings of Art Blakey, Max Roach, and Elvin Jones, musicians who had begun to experiment with West African rhythms and musical concepts. At the time, Nigeria’s immensely popular Igbo Highlife music was incorporating influences from Jazz formulating what became known as Afro-Jazz, connecting the American genre back to its roots. These early cross-cultural dialogues pushed Allen to develop a drumming style that fused Highlife and Jazz. In the mid-1960s, Allen met Fela Kuti, and the two formed the group Koola Lobitos, which would later grow to become the legendary Africa 70 band. Nigerian audiences did not immediately take to this new sound, but following a trip to the United States, Kuti was exposed to James Brown and the Black Panthers. Allen began to incorporate the sounds of Black American Funk and Soul. By the 1970s, the group morphed their influences into Afrobeat, the sound of post-colonial Africa, making music that was concerned with economic and political liberation and Pan-Africanism.
The nearly 30 records which Allen appeared on with Africa 70 contain some of the most innovative drumming of all time. Throughout his time with Fela Kuti and Africa 70, Tony Allen introduced the world not only to Afrobeat, but to an entirely new way of conceptualizing rhythm.
In his post-Fela career, Allen moved to Paris and continued to be a vanguard. He experimented with Dub, Electro, and Hip-Hop. He was a willing mentor, collaborating with several generations of musicians inspired by his vernacular. French pop artists, such as Sebastien Tellier, Air, and Charlotte Gainsbourg, called upon Allen to help shape some of their most well-known work, such as Tellier’s “La Ritournelle” and Gainbourg’s “5:55”. His collaborations with Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz formed the bands The Good, the Bad, and the Queen and Rocket Juice and the Moon, where rock stars like Paul Simenon and Flea were eager to enter conversation with a musician Brian Eno once called “perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived”.
On some of his last recordings, Allen returned to his love of Jazz, while reminding listeners of the ongoing influence and legacy of the diaspora. Recording with Blue Note, he released a tribute to his hero Art Blakey, along with an album of original material and collaborating with the South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. In 2018, Allen and Techno pioneer Jeff Mills released an EP that fused Afrobeat, Jazz, and Techno. On 2021’s aptly titled posthumous recording “There Is No End”, Allen worked with Hip-Hop artists such as Danny Brown and UK Grime star Skepta. Allen remained a constant innovator, absorbing sounds that had derived from West African music and conversing with new generations, passing on the ideals of Pan-Africanism. For Jazz Is Dead producer Adrian Younge, it is no small honor to share new music recorded with the drummer revolutionary Tony Allen.
"Don't Believe the Dancers" is the first single from the forthcoming Tony Allen JID018. Have a listen below.
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| Sadly, legendary drummer Tony Allen – Afrobeat architect and longtime Fela Kuti sideman – passed away on Wednesday. He was 79. |
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| Expect to see Col. Tom Parker along with many of Tony Allen's musician friends joining in tonight's celebration which starts at 8 pm and runs till closing. |
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| Tony Allen's forthcoming Tribute to Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers is out on Blue Note May 22. Watch him play it below. |
