Osibisa Black Magic Night CD

Recorded on July 19, 1977, this double LP (reissued as a two-CD set) contained live versions of songs that appeared on several of their 1971-1977 albums, as well as one ("Living Loving Feeling") that only came out as a single. Osibisa, who anticipated many of the features of the worldbeat sound, cover a lot of ground on this lengthy set -- maybe too much for some tastes. Sometimes the material gets close to traditional African music in its rhythms and chanting; at others, it nearly treads on jazz fusion territory, though not in a bad way. And while Osibisa singer and multi-instrumentalist Teddy Osei says in the liner notes that the band wasn't influenced by Santana, the Afro-Latin rhythms and chant-style vocals in some of the songs certainly remind you of Santana, though again not in an objectionable fashion. There's also some Rahsaan Roland Kirk-style flute playing, and a rendition of their substantial 1976 British hit "Sunshine Day" that finds them at their most pop-friendly. While they might not have been the most innovative or original of these kind of groups, overall this is a lively document of an ensemble that fused African, soul-funk, and some Latin and jazz elements when that sort of mixture was far less accessible outside Africa than it would be in subsequent decades. ~ Richie Unterberger

Recorded live at The Royal House Festival, London, England on July 19, 1977. Originally released on Bronze Records (3). Includes liner notes by Ted Osei and Rob Corich.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Osibisa: Wendall Richardson (vocals, guitar, dondo drum); Mac Tontoh (vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn, African xylophne, kabassa, bells); Mike Odumoso (vocals, bass, bells); Sol "Rhythm Man" Amarfio (vocals, congas, cowbells, drums); Teddy Osei (flute, soprano & tenor saxophones); Robert Bailey (keyboards); Daku "Potato" (congas, percussion); Sonia Lekhela, Ntobi Mdudu, Tiny Conco, Linda Conco (background vocals).