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HAVING travelled to the Ivory Coast in 1981, legendary Motown producer Art Stewart created the Eboni Band, made up of Motown session players and local musicians, and recorded an extraordinary album of west African-influenced soul and funk.
Amazingly, the Detroit record label gave the recording a rain check, believing US audiences weren’t ready for this music from the African diaspora. But the record did get a limited distribution in the Ivory Coast and now, lucky us, gets a full re-release.
With its cacophony of voices and busy street energy, opener Sing A Happy Song has definite shades of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, though the jazz-fusion of Weather Report’s Black Market also comes to mind.