Have Some Heart: The Souljazz Orchestra and "Courage"

Today's song, Courage, is by Ottawa-based band The Souljazz Orchestra. Their music is a fusion of soul, jazz, funk, afrobeat and Latin styles. They came to worldwide attention when their 2006 song Mista President was voted into the top 10 of BBC DJ Gilles Peterson's worldwide radio program. They have shared bills with Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Femi Kuti, bringing them more attention. They have released seven albums. Courage can be found on their newest 2015 release, Resistance.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Souljazz_Orchestra; http://www.souljazzorchestra.com/

He Is: Fela Ransome Kuti and the Highlife Rakers with "Fela's Special"

Today's random song is an early tune by an African and music legend, Fela Ransom Kuti, accompanied by The Highlife Rakers. A Nigerian musician and composer who played many instruments, Fela Kuti was a pioneer of Afrobeat. In 1958, Kuti was sent to London to study medicine, but decided to study music instead and formed his first band, the Koola Lobitos, who fused jazz and highlife music. After five years in London, he moved back to Nigera and reformed the Koola Lobitos but after a while, he decided to move to Ghana to try a different direction. It was in Ghana that he first started playing what would be called Afrobeat, a unique fusion of jazz, funk, highlife, psychedelia and traditional chants and rhythms of West Africa. In 1969, he spent 10 months in Los Angeles where he became acquainted with the Black Power movement, and this experience would influence his future music, as well as drive his human rights and political activities. He became not only a revered musician, but a political figure as well. He frequently decried Nigerian political corruption and mistreatment of Nigerian citizens and consequently was arrested over 200 times. Personally, he also believed in polygamy as part of a greater African culture, and participation in this practice may have led to his contraction of HIV/AIDS which was his official cause of death in 1997, although his exact cause of death remains controversial. His funeral featured a five-sided glass coffin for full public viewing. His music has since undergone a revival, helped by the Broadway musical Fela! which was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, and an annual Felabration festival in Lagos. You can find this song, Fela's Special, on the 2015 various artists retrospective Highlife on the Move: Selected Nigerian & Ghanaian Recordings from London & Lagos 1954-66, issued by Soundway Records.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Barbilla Up: The Souljazz Orchestra and "Courage"

Today's song, Courage, is by Ottawa-based band The Souljazz Orchestra. Their music is a fusion of soul, jazz, funk, afrobeat and Latin styles. They came to worldwide attention when their 2006 song Mista President was voted into the top 10 of BBC DJ Gilles Peterson's worldwide radio program. They have shared bills with Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Femi Kuti, bringing them more attention. They have released seven albums. Courage can be found on their newest 2015 release, Resistance.

Morning Has Broken: Carlou D and "Begge Sa Reew"

Today's world random tune is by Carlou D, a Senegalese artist widely considered to be on the brink of international stardom. He first gained notice as a member of the African hip hop group Positive Black Soul, but has since branched out and incorporates a number of different styles into his music. This song, Begge Sa Reew, which hearkens back to 70s afrobeat, can be found on his 2015 release A New Day.

Pick it Up: Penny Penny and "Shibandzu"

From South Africa comes our random tune and a great story to go with it! Shibandza is by Penny Penny, a South African janitor who in 1991 approached Afrobeat producer Joseph Shirimani and asked to work with him. Shirimani agreed after hearing him sing, and they cut a number of songs including Shaka Bundu which became a hit in southern Africa. The songs were notable because they were sung in the Tsonga language - music in that language usually didn't produce hits. After initial success, Penny Penny fell off the radar for 20 years. He spent his time touring relentlessy to make money as many pirated copies of his music were floating around. He then became a councillor in the African National Congress. It wasn't until Brian Shimkovitz, a former music publicist who owns the Afrobeat music blog Awesome Tapes from Africa, heard a cassette of his music. He released an album of Penny's Penny's music in 2013, including his hit Shaka Bundu as well as other songs recorded by Penny in 1994. The album became a hit and led to a Penny Penny tour of America. This song, Shibandza, is from that 2013 CD titled Shaka Bundu.