Orlando Julius
His
Modern Aces album has been released as a two-fer with the
Afro Sounders album.
His
Modern Aces ensemble took advantage of the sounds of highlife coming out of a just recently independent Ghana
and fused it with soul, jazz and a smattering of Cuban swing. When you hear what was popular in the mid-60s Nigeria -
singles like
Topless,
Jagua Nana,
E Se Re Re, and
Ololufe you can understand its immediate popularity.
The key differences between these two bands is that although both are tremendous, you get a bit more jazz and funk
along with some more daring playing from
Julius and more stretching out by the band in the
Afro Sounders line-up.
By the early to mid 70s,
Orlando Julius' star-power was beginning to be eclipsed by
Fela and so America called and he
answered by, first, starting another band called,
Umoja, then was whisked away by
Hugh Masekela to play in
his band.
Touring, teaching and collaborations followed with a long stint with the
Heliocentrics. Two good places to start.
