YOU HAVE BEEN INFORMED

Jimi Tenor And Tony Allen: Sinuhe
From Inspiration Information Vol. 4 (Strut, 2009)

On October 27, Strut Records is releasing the fourth volume in its Inspiration Information series this time pairing up Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen, who backed Fela Kuti's band in the '70s, with Finnish music mastermind Jimi Tenor, who among other projects also has some Afro-music based history with his band Kabu Kabu. The pair have quite big shoes to fill. NPR's Bob Boilen declared in May that its predecessor featuring Mulatu Astatke and The Heliocentrics' Volume 3 the best jazz album he had heard thus far in 2009.

On this set where one of the participants also hails from Africa, the shift is not on Ethio-jazz, but on more traditional Afrobeat. On “Sinuhe,” you have a funky bass riff in a mostly instrumental effort with an almost call-and-response feature with the backing “Oh yeah!” chants. The horns that sprinkle over the top elevate the dynamic even more.

The opener “Against The Wall” features MC Allonymous in a spoken word, almost proto rap, while adding in a sing-songy flow for a hook where he croons he wants to “do it dancehall style.” Midway through the album, the MC appears again on “Path To Wisdom” and nods to the Oval Office chief talking about a “change we can believe in” welcoming us “to the dawn.” Meanwhile the saxophonist goes for broke on an exhilarating solo at the end of the song.

Volume 4 is a more than worthy follow-up to the Astatke/Heliocentrics effort. Tony Allen shows why he was such a force with the Africa 70 band with the various rhythms he employs. Tenor complements him well with his homemade instruments and melodies. Each show why they are masters of their craft on this solid album.