Kenrick Rowe
I've known Ken for several years, not well, but enough to share a glass and have a natter with during breaks from the Effra jamming sessions. Like many musicians there's more than an evenings worth of stories to relate, and a 10 minute time out from drumming is never going to be enough to hear even a handful of what he does, where his influences have come from and all the imparitive things one needs to know to really understand what makes a great musician.
As luck would have it, I darken the doors of the Effra on a regular basis, so over the years I've managed to scratch up a fair few 10 minutes with this great man.
Born in London, 1960 to Jamaican parents he started out his musical experiences with Ska and Reggae, at first playing the guitar. Not quite sure what to do with one initially, but after many milk rounds to pay for an electric guitar and eventually plucking up the courage to go a local band rehearsal, started to play the Reggae scene. As he gradually recognised notes and picked up methods he was able to progress and move on to better bands. At about the age of 18 Ken and his brother saved up and managed to buy a drum kit, and so it wasn't long before the guitar was cast to one side.
Bukky Leo
Like Ken, I've sort of known Bukky for years, mainly from frequenting the tavern probably a little too often, but it's hard not to when you get to meet such interesting people with such fascinating lives to tell of. Though a little reserved at first, perhaps shy, especially compared to the other musicians, Bukky, once you get him talking and sharing his stories, you quickly learn you're going to have to sit down. This man has a lot to tell, and what a life so far. He mentions playing with Fela Kuti back in the 1980's, as if he was saying 'I'm just off to the bar'. 'Fela Kuti, the founder of Afro beat' I say, 'Yep, that's the one' was the simple reply. I tentatively sup my Guinness thoughtfully.
Growing up in Lagos Nigeria, Bukky was spotted practising his first saxophone by the original afro-beat drummer Tony Allen. He was immediately ushered into Tony’s newly formed band. Bukky went on to play with the great Fela Kuti where the seeds of afrobeat were being sown. After sometime in the band and under the influence of Tony Allen, Bukky decided to follow his own journey with his distinct style of jazz and a fro-beat.
In 1982, Bukky's path led him to London, where he became one of the forerunners of the acid jazz scene. A young A&R man called Gilles Peterson signed him to the newly formed Acid Jazz label. His first release 'Rejoice in Righteousness' was at the heart of the acid jazz world. It went straight to number one in the
rhythm and blues, dance and jazz charts. The follow up album 'River Nile' led him to being nominated for the US African Music Awards in New York. There he became aquatinted with the legendary late tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson who invited Bukky to his home in San Francisco
Since the acid jazz days, he has remained loyal to his goal of making groundbreaking afro-centric grooves. This led to the creation of the Source. The band toured extensively and recorded a self-titled album, featured on the Club Africa 2 compilation on Strut records. In the mid 90s, he embarked on the definitive pilgrimage to Egypt where he laid down the intellectual and musical foundations for the formation of Black Egypt. The trip to Nile was an eye opener for him.
After four years of developing their sound, Black Egypt have emerged as the most important afro-beat group outside Nigeria. Bukky is still in demand as a world class Saxophonist. He is presently touring with the African Jazz All Stars and Tony Allen's Afro-Beat Big Band. The next chapter is this collaboration with Ben Mitchell. Ben has produced such artists as Terry Callier, Mr Hermano and Dusty Springfield. They met while Ben was producing ‘The Rapping With The Gods’ album with legendary Brighton DJ Russ Dewbury. The album feat ured Bukky on vocals and saxophone on the track 'Living Am I living'. The result of their meeting is the Afrobeat Visions LP available on Mr Bongo Records.
Check out his web site here
My own write up coming soon (this is pinched from Bukkys home page)
Lauren Dalrymple
Lauren is a Sunday night regular in the Effra and has been entertaining us for 10 years with her quartet. British-born of Guyanese parentage, Lauren has been singing since the age of eight. As a teenager she undertook intense vocal training, and made a living as an in-demand backing vocalist before going solo in 1991 aged 19. Since then she’s lent her immense vocal talents to the likes of Tomorrow’s Warriors, Afro-Cuban All Stars, Zoe Rahman, and Keith Waithe, but is perhaps best known for her seven year writing and performing partnership with Latin-jazz pianist Alex Wilson. Lauren features on three of Alex’s albums: Afro-Saxon, Anglo-Cubano, and R&B Latino, each of which she also wrote for.