Shikamoo Jazz

• Chela Chela Vol. 1 [RetroAfric, 1995] A−
• East African Legends Live [RetroTan, 2022] A

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Chela Chela Vol. 1 [RetroAfric, 1995]
In this 1995 iteration they're an East African supergroup rolling out Swahili standards for an audience that knows most of them by heart, with sweetly soulful vocals buoyed by guitars and percussion with deftly deployed extra balafon flavoring that often sounds like some indigenous vibraphone chiming and echoing not far below or behind. The opening "Bahati" and the closing "Donda La Mapenzi" are standouts. The other six tracks are pretty darn nice. A−

East African Legends Live [RetroTan, 2022]
Thanks to trusted U.K. Afropop heads Ronnie Graham and Graeme Ewens (who credit a third collaborator previously unknown to me named Charles Easman), this longstanding Tanzanian band can finally be heard 7500 miles from home. The fundamental sonics and groove will be familiar enough to any Yank who's knows much soukous, but with less Cuba and extra strains of more straightforward Kenya in the groove. It's joyous and uplifting the way tourists who can't afford the plane tickets expect African dance music to be. And the music, mostly from the '90s I'm pretty sure, isn't all guitars. There are saxophones, trumpets, flutes, an organ. Sometimes the singers turn into chorales. Sometimes they just wail. A