By the way, I'm hardly a world's expert on African music, and this list is kinda whatcha call a "work in progress," so please feel free to make suggestions and comments.
Ubuntu "Master Drummers Of Africa, v.2" (Arc Music, 2010)
I'm not sure, but I think the UK-based Arc Music label had a whole series of "master drummer" albums, though each set may have spotlighted different artists. I had and reviewed this album by the group(?) Ubuntu several years ago, but can't find information about it now... my bad. Other volumes in the series seem to be various-artist compilations, and possibly this one was as well. As to the album itself, well, I'm not always the biggest fan (or best judge) of drumming albums. I wasn't that into it, but practicing drummers and percussion buffs might get into it.
Celestine Ukwu "Greatest Hits" (Flame Tree Records/African Classics, 1997)
Nigerian bandleader Celestine Obiakor (aka Celestine Ukwu, 1940-1977) was a 1960's highlife pioneer who played a laid-back style of guitar music that harkened back to early music from the 1940s and '50s... And yet he was also an innovator, introducing the pedal steel into his sound several years before King Sunny Ade made it the cornerstone of his own "juju" music. Like many African musicians, he moved through and led several bands, or various permutations of the same bands, and his recorded legacy can be difficult to track, with overlapping reissues and whatnot. Ukwu did release about a half dozen albums under his own name in the 1970s, up until his unfortunate death in a 1977 traffic accident. This delicious collection draws from two albums by his 1970's band, The Philosophers, 1971's True Philosophy and Ilo Abu Chi, from 1974, an album that included his gentle, enchanting "Igede (Part 1)." This isn't really a "greatest hits" collection, though, and I'm sure many music fans would welcome a proper retrospective of his work... Ukwu recorded numerous tracks before the Biafran war of independence (an event that sidelined his career in the late '60s) and like many African artists, his discography is packed with singles-only releases that beg for someone to collect and reissue them. If you give this sly, gentle set a good listen, I'm sure you'll agree.
Celestine Ukwu "True Philosophy" (Phillips, 1971) (LP)
Celestine Ukwu "Tomorrow Is So Uncertain" (Phillips, 1973) (LP)
Celestine Ukwu "Ndu Ka Aku" (Phillips, 1974) (LP)
Celestine Ukwu "Ilo Abu Chi" (Phillips, 1974) (LP)
Celestine Ukwu & His Philosophers National "Ejim Nk'Onye" (Phillips, 1975) (LP)
Celestine Ukwu "Igede Fantasia" (Phillips, 1976) (LP)
As noted above, Celestine Ukwu died in a traffic accident in 1977, making this the last album he released. Also worth checking out is the 1978 tribute album by the CUMB Ensemble, with "CUMB" standing for "Celestine Ukwu Memorial Band."
Sir Victor Uwaifo "Greatest Hits, v.1" (Premier Records, 2002)
Sir Victor Uwaifo "Guitar Boy Superstar 1970-1976" (Soundway Records, 2008)
A great collection of rare Nigerian guitar-pop from the early 1970s. Guitarist Victor Uwaifo made a name for himself in the early 1960s, playing in several bands before forming his own Melody Maestros around 1965... This disc collects sixteen tracks recorded in the early 1970s, when Uwaifo was an established artist, and had recently returned to his home town of Benin City, after having worked in Lagos for several years. These are supremely confident recordings, including several that are very modern and full-sounding, with richly-textured, fuzzed-out electric guitars and innovative melodies. It's great stuff. Uwaifo dubbed his original highlife style "Akwete" music, named after the wildly patterned, multicolored clothwork of Eastern Nigeria, and while the last few tracks on this collection don't sound that different than what other bands were doing at the time, the opening salvo is pretty impressive. Although this collection doesn't include any of his earlier work from the '60s, I suspect that by the time he'd cut these tracks for the Ekassa label, Uwaifo was really playing at his prime. (I'd love to hear the early stuff as well, though! Maybe another volume will come out sometime soon...) If you're into West African guitar music, this disc is a doozy -- highly recommended!
African Artists... Letter "V"
African Music Index
World Music Index
