Albino Afrobeat; Teton and Yellowstone songs; Willie’s coming back

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

By Aaron Davis

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Keeping with the spirit of a worldwide Afrobeat revival, San Francisco’s vibrant 11-piece ensemble Albino uses music as a weapon and a vehicle for protest. The genre’s pioneer, Fela Kuti, established not only the fusion of funk and polyrhythms with Yoruba music and jazz in the late ’60s, but attacked the political injustices in Africa using social criticism through his lyrics.

While Albino embraces the philosophy and group dynamic of Kuti’s legacy, their original music focuses on domestic issues, from commercialism to the state of the government.
“It seems like the voices of people aren’t being heard,” said Michael Bello, the musical director of Albino who plays tenor and baritone sax, lead vocals, and keyboards. “It’s about the deconstruction of the transitional movement, breaking down the power that holds it together, like corporations - bringing back power to individuals.”

The group has released two albums in the last year, debut studio album “Rhino,” and “Live with Karl Denson,” recorded during a sellout crowd at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall in November. The latter disc features all new original material since their studio effort. The large ensemble brings a unique presence to stage, sporting homemade costumes, face paint and choreographed dance moves.

“The idea behind the costumes is that, early on, we wanted to have the spirit of Sun Ra or Parliament or Kuti,” Bello said. “We didn’t want to represent in the same way because it’s not our culture. A lot of our costumes were created by our percussionist/dancer, but eventually each member started adding their own [flair].”
Traveling in an old school bus that was gutted and converted into a moving hostel with bunks, the like-minded posse features a four-piece horn section, bass, drums, guitar, multiple percussionists, and a dance choreographer.

Albino was awarded “Best World Music” by the SF Weekly and is a regular performer at Burning Man Festival.
Albino will present a powerful evening of Afrobeat at 10 p.m. tonight at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village. Tickets are $5 at the door. Surf to albinoband.com, mangymoose.net or call 733-9779 for more information.

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Winners and finalists of the Western Folklife Center’s “Yellowstone Teton Song Contest” will perform at the Songs of Yellowstone and the Tetons CD Launch Concert at 7 p.m. on Friday at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Tickets are $12 and $10 for seniors and museum members, and are available at Valley Bookstore, at the door or by calling 733-3082. The concert is co-presented by Vista 360 and the NMWA.

The contest sought songs and other musical compositions inspired by the greater Yellowstone area. The Grand Prize of $1000 went to Connie Dover for her song “Out Yonder,” Ray Doyle earned $500 for his second-place tune “The Jewel,” and the ‘online audience award’ landed Jon Chandler a new Gibson Songwriter Deluxe guitar for “The Road That Leads to Yellowstone.”

These three musicians, as well as finalists Dan Thomasma, Ben Winship and special guest Beth McIntosh, will perform.

In all, 139 songs were entered into the contest. Four anonymous music experts from the area narrowed the list down to sixteen. Most of the submissions were categorized as cowboy, singer-songwriter, country, and bluegrass.

“We wanted to give people a wonderful soundtrack of music to accompany their drive around the parks,” stated Hal Cannon, founding director of the Western Folklife Center, in a press release about the Songs of the Yellowstone and the Tetons compilation.
For more information about the artists and the contest, visit www.westernfolklife.org.

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According to livedaily.com and www.stillisstillmoving.com, Willie Nelson will be playing the Center for the Arts on August 23. Nelson, who turns 75 this year, played Snow King Amphitheatre on Labor Day of 2005. His new release, “Moment of Forever,” features a few new originals as well as tunes by Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, and Dave Matthews. Nelson received the honor of BMI Icon at the organization’s annual country award ceremony last November.

Courtesy photo
Albino’s members raise their voices to fight injustice.

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Albino Afrobeat; Teton and Yellowstone songs; Willie’s coming back | Planet JH News Article: Music Box

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