To celebrate the launch of a new EP, NIGERIAN FUNK, Blufunk innovator Keziah Jones returns to London next month, starting with a performance at the Jazz Café on 6 August. At his first London headline show since 2004, Keziah who cites Jimi Hendrix and Fela Kuti as his main influences will showcase his unique sound of Blu-funk, Afrobeat, blues, rock and pop. His fluid, acrobatic vocals and distinctive guitar-playing will be complemented by Michael Desir on drums and Dermott Freeman on bass.
The following day, on 7 August, Keziah Jones will do an exclusive solo set at the Tate Britain (LATE at the TATE Britain: LATE NIGHT RADIO). About performing in a big room in a museum, surrounded by 200-year old paintings, Keziah says: "I’ll be playing extended freestyle versions of songs from all my previous albums." The event is curated by Max Reinhardt of BBC Radio 3's Late Junction: "I longed for Keziah to be part of this night because I know how devastatingly talented and original he is, but most people in London really haven't heard of him yet. I also wanted him to play in a totally new and seriously experimental context so people get an idea of the depth and range of his phenomenal talent that defies the standard categories with which the music business attempts to box and limit him."
On the five tracks on the EP Keziah tries to represent Nigeria in a more contemporary cultural context. "Nigerian Wood" is a tongue-in-cheek dig at the Beatles and their sexually uptight lyrics, while "African Android" is about the consequences of malfunctioning African technology. "International Area Boy" is about Africans travelling with drugs through immigration, and "Nigeria We Hail Thee" is the old pre-independence Nigerian national anthem set to lyrics about the British monarchy and its connection to African military dictatorships. About Afro Funk track "Lagos vs New York" Keziah says: "There are a lot of similarities between Lagos and New York, in the attitude of people and a certain urban aggressiveness."
The songs are a preview to his forthcoming fifth album NIGERIAN WOOD (to be released in the Autumn), an album of pride and love. Pride is the very essence of Yoruba thought, as defined by Fela Kuti and proudly taken up by Keziah since his previous album, the critically acclaimed BLACK ORPHEUS. The new album was produced by Karriem Riggins, a prodigious jazz drummer (for Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown) and one of the best Nu Soul producers (Common, Erykah Badu), and recorded for the most part at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York. Says Keziah: "I wanted to combine several life experiences on this new album. Of course, the fact that it was recorded where Jimi Hendrix made his legendary album had an impact on me."
Originally from Nigeria, Keziah first travelled to London as a teenager to pursue his education, but whilst his family wanted him to become a doctor, he chose a career as a musician. He is now based in Brooklyn, New York, while keeping up his Lagos-Paris-London shuttle trips. Keziah Jones tirelessly travels the planet in pursuit of a wealth of influences. In 2007, he thus covered U2's "One" on the compilation In The Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2, and plays on the current Amadou and Mariam album Welcome to Mali.
http://www.keziahjones.com
http://www.myspace.com/keziahjones
