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Reply to "Nina Simone"

Daddy, I ran Baba's business with him for about nine years in the 90's. It really transformed my life in many many ways. I have endless stories about that adventure. He 'went over to the great majority' -as they say- April 6. The cause was terminal stages of diabetes. Drums of Passion was recorded in 1958/9. Everyone from Dylan to Santanna had their musical heads whacked by it. Closer to home, Nina, Coltrane, Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach, Joan Baez, Mickey Hart, Jerry Garcia, -all fell under the spell. Baba and Nina had very similar temperaments when it came to the music business. And, well, Olatunji was a Nigerian, and African businessmen have a TOTALLY different set of business ethics let me tell you. Olatunji fared a little better recognition-wise than Nina, having won a Grammy (with Hart, Airto and Flora et.al.) for a world music collaboration called Planet Drum. And in '98 he was nominated again for his own release on the Chesky label, Love Drum Talk, which I liked a lot because it was recorded 'live' in a church on 22nd Street with a small ensemble including Della Flack, Roberta's sister. Baba's and Nina's music both went straight for the emotional touchstone. Nina was tied in to the Black Arts movement of the '60's from the beginning and Olatunji was definitely a major flavor in it. I should make you a copy of a totally obscure Olatunji recording that was only ever pressed as 1000 cassettes - amazing traditional meditation music. You can get his whole discography ( sans the usual roster of indies and collaborations ) in a box set produced by Bear Records, a mail-house label in Berlin. It has a book with great photos, and gems like a single written for Jackie-O that was performed at a Democratic fundraiser in the early '60's. Ask Bobby what an Olatunji performance was like, I remember Bobby in the audience for a benefit for the UN Hunger project somewhere around '97.

[This message was edited by seven on 07-14-03 at 05:14 PM.]

[This message was edited by seven on 07-14-03 at 05:18 PM.]

[This message was edited by seven on 07-14-03 at 05:39 PM.]
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