For people who appreciate South African popular music, particularly of the kind that Hugh Masakela and Mariam Makeba made famous, there is an opportunity to hear a group of local New Yorkers who play this kind of music like honorary Sowetans. This is the swinging band called Afroblue. Not only do they play the South African style superbly, they include classic reggae and Afrocuban stylings as well. Music of the African Diaspora is second nature to the band's members who have roots in Africa, the Caribbean and multicultural New York City. Sid Whelan, Afroblue's guitarist and native New Yorker, describes the band's outlook: "African music is specific to its environment and Africans always adapt their musical values to their surroundings. Afroblue is a New York band through and through--it could have happened here in this tremendously complex multi and intercultural mosaic. We represent a few of the Pan-African stones which make up that mosaic." "Mudiwa Wangu" from Afroblue's upcoming CD is a great example of their eclectic approach. A guitar introduction by Sid Whelan lays down some sweet, plangent, Soukous melodies and just when you ready for a vocal in the style of Tabu Ley, you get a surprise. Tutu Tutani sings in English, "On my way again, down that stormy road...". At this point, the style then shifts almost imperceptibly into the South African "marabi" style that Hugh Masakela and Miriam Makeba popularized. Marabi, better known as "township jive," has roots in American jazz, church hymns and local African rhythms. It relies on major keys and has an "upbeat" quality that makes you want to get up on your feet and march--or, better yet, dance. Keyboard player Arnaldo (Naido) Vargas' keyboard accompaniment is the glue that holds everything together. His electronic keyboard is analogous to the accordion in Marabi bands, with their chugging, nonstop rhythms. It is also suggestive of traditional Cuban bands, where the keyboard provides the central melodic and harmonic thrust. This is the music that Vargas grew up listening to in Washington Heights. Marabi is the music that is most synonymous with the struggle against Apartheid. In addition to the powerful protest songs of Hugh Masakela and Miriam Makeba. Masakela's words speak eloquently for the artistic spirit which moves Afroblue: "If you look at the whole African diaspora, whether it be in South America, the Caribbean or the United States, there's been a victimization because of the color of our skin and the closeness to nature of our culture. It is sad that we tend to look at the international black middle class and think that we're making progress. But whether you go to Trenchtown of Jamaica or the townships of South Africa, we're the low-life. Other people have been able to beat their impoverishment, but they had to be aware of what was going on and try to pick themselves up. We have to become an enterprising people instead of a complaining people. The only way to get out of our problems is to uplift ourselves." While the interplay between Vargas and Whelan sounds relaxed and confident, it took four years of hard work to produce. Whelan says that guitar and piano are two of the hardest instruments to use together in African music, or any other popular music for that matter. When he recently asked one of his jazz guitar teachers how to play with a pianist, he said "stay out of the way." Combining Vargas' Afro-Cuban piano style with Whelan's soukous guitar has been a big success and no other band blends the two styles together the way they do. So how do you categorize this surprising and fresh new approach to Afropop? Is it soukous or marabi or son conjunto? Is it Congolese or South African or Cuban? The answer is that it is all of these things at the same time. African music rejects the exclusive "or". This is a music of inclusion, and Afroblue ties things together better than anybody around. Coming to the music from the outside has afforded Whelan some interesting perspectives on the difference between playing guitar in an American jazz band and playing Congolese style guitar. The hardest thing for him to adjust to was that soukous guitarists do not start on the same downbeat, nor do they follow the same beat during the course of a song. The guitarists have to listen to each other and to the drummers more carefully than usual. The overall effect is much more improvisatory than American jazz or popular music that follows a steady beat in most cases. African multi-rhythms are a pleasure to the ear, but they are a big challenge to apprentice musicians as Whelan learned. Whelan says, "The recording artists who have influenced my sound the most are Diblo Dibala and Dally Kimoko in their work with Kanda Bongo Man, Remmy Ongala and Mose Fan Fan in their post-Franco playing, as well as Syran M'Benza with his Franco-at-120mph style. they have been tremendous influences on my sound. Rigo Star, Bopol Misiana and Lokassa Ya M'Bongo have been tremendous influences on my rhythm guitar ideas, but...contrary to my original expectations, the rhythm guitar work of African music is usually much more difficult and sophisticated than the lead work." Rhythm is of course a key element of Afroblue's music, as it is of any African band. Whelan says that in some respects any African band is organized like the simple, egalitarian drum ensembles that enchanted him from his Fifth Avenue bedroom window when he was a child. The musicians rely on each other's cues, rather than getting strict instructions from a leader. This spirit guides Afroblue as well, which has no leader as such. The musicians are in effect co-leaders and participate as equals. This requires everybody in the band to be highly skilled and responsive to each other's initiatives during performance. Joining Whelan, keyboardist Vargas and lead singer Tutani are joined by drummer Benny Koonyevsky, originally from Israel, and bassist Trevor Bridgewater, from the island of St. Kitts. Koonyevsky, a Julliard graduate, is a specialist in Brazilian rhythms and frequently performs with classical ensembles. Bridgewater helps to root the band in the soca and reggae styles, which is becoming an important part of their repertory. Catch them. They're hot. Louis Proyect Upcoming Afroblue Appearances 1. Friday, April 24 - Doors open at 11:00pm Nell's 264 West 14th Street, New York City Tel: 212-675-1567 Admission: $15 Or send an e-mail to get on the guest list: [EMAIL PROTECTED], all Afroblue fans can get in free, but arrive there before 11:30 if you want to get in easily. 2. Monday, May 4 - Doors open at 9:30pm Le Bar Bat 311 West 57th Street Tel: 212-307-7228 Admission: $15 Or send an e-mail to get on the guest list: [EMAIL PROTECTED], all Afroblue fans can get in free. 3. Friday, August 7 at 7:00pm Providence Waterfront Festival - Downtown Riverside Park Providence, RI Free outdoor show Tel: 401-785-9450 4. Afroblue will release its first CD "Pelesa" in June. To receive a promotional flier and mail order form, send an E-mail to WAgencyNYC@ aol.com. Mail order or direct sales a gigs will be the only ways to get a copy of the CD until such time as distribution is secured.
