Nearly 40 years ago multi-instrumentalist Fela Kuti and drummer Tony Allen embarked on a musical journey that resulted in what we now know today as Afrobeat, a highly percussive style of music influenced by African highlife as well as funk and soul from America. The sonic ground that Fela and Allen broke was revolutionary at the time in that it forged a new musical identity never before seen in Africa. Their legacy was built side-by-side through Afrobeat, and although Fela receives much of the accolades, it was Allen who served as the engineer, laying down the marathon-long percussive blueprints. To put it into perspective: if Fela is the James Brown of Afrobeat then Tony Allen is Clyde Stubblefield. Allen's stop at Millennium Park (for the Downtown Sound: New Music Mondays concert series) will be a journey through a rich musical history that goes miles beyond "contemporary world music," and it should be a must-attend for all those who are fans of Afrobeat. Best of all, it’s free. (J. Min)
