ZONE002: Kumasi, Live at Marigny Studios

US$22.00

Mystery Zone Record’s 2nd Release
Kumasi, Live at Marigny Studios
180g Pressing, Reverse-Board Jacket
Ltd. 500 Copies

Kumasi may be modern Afrobeat’s best kept secret. Since 2014 the 14-piece powerhouse has meandered from one New Orleans dive to another, performing to a mostly local audience, and often for free. The group, lead by frontman Stefan Poole’s Fela-inspired, yet uniquely New Orleans showmanship, has moved both the genre’s deepest diggers and the most casual of French Quarter tourists to dance.

The group’s live performances are infamously marathons, regularly spanning 3 hours at their Blue Nile residency. Original compositions comprise most setlists: modern, jazz-centric interpretations of Fela’s classic form that incorporate rhythms and stylings from New Orleans and the surrounding Afro-diaspora, namely Cuba, Haiti, and Brazil. The band regularly offers up a deep selection of '70s and '80s Afrobeat and Afro-funk covers from across the African Continent as well- songs that rarely exist outside the cracks of old vinyl, brought back to life in all their original grandeur.

Here, Kumasi presents their third release and first live album, recorded where they feel most at home as a group- on a New Orleans stage in front of a live audience. This performance features four original compositions recorded live for the first time. It’s music that perfectly showcases the infectious mix of heavy rhythms, spontaneous, improvisational musicianship, and inclusive, participatory style that characterize Kumasi as a group as well as the genre as a whole. Enjoy!

Credits

released April 16, 2021

Personnel:
Alto Sax, Vocals: Stefan Poole
Vocals, Claves: Kaya Nicole
Vocals, Shekere: Heather Nolan
Vocals, Maracas: Margie Perez
Trumpet: Jeremy Thomas
Trombone: Peter Gustafson
Tenor Sax: Seth Bailin
Baritone Sax: Charlie Kahn
Keyboard/Organ: Joseph Boucha
Tenor Guitar: Or Shovaly
Rhythm Guitar: Orlando Vega
Electric Bass: Jonathan Solomon
Congas: Conga Mike
Drumset: Logan Schutts


Recording Engineers: Paul McDonald, Justin Armstrong
Mixed by Nick Guttman
Mastered by Randall Squires
Artwork by John Isiah Walton
Pressed by New Orleans Record Press

license

all rights reserved

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Add To Cart

Mystery Zone Record’s 2nd Release
Kumasi, Live at Marigny Studios
180g Pressing, Reverse-Board Jacket
Ltd. 500 Copies

Kumasi may be modern Afrobeat’s best kept secret. Since 2014 the 14-piece powerhouse has meandered from one New Orleans dive to another, performing to a mostly local audience, and often for free. The group, lead by frontman Stefan Poole’s Fela-inspired, yet uniquely New Orleans showmanship, has moved both the genre’s deepest diggers and the most casual of French Quarter tourists to dance.

The group’s live performances are infamously marathons, regularly spanning 3 hours at their Blue Nile residency. Original compositions comprise most setlists: modern, jazz-centric interpretations of Fela’s classic form that incorporate rhythms and stylings from New Orleans and the surrounding Afro-diaspora, namely Cuba, Haiti, and Brazil. The band regularly offers up a deep selection of '70s and '80s Afrobeat and Afro-funk covers from across the African Continent as well- songs that rarely exist outside the cracks of old vinyl, brought back to life in all their original grandeur.

Here, Kumasi presents their third release and first live album, recorded where they feel most at home as a group- on a New Orleans stage in front of a live audience. This performance features four original compositions recorded live for the first time. It’s music that perfectly showcases the infectious mix of heavy rhythms, spontaneous, improvisational musicianship, and inclusive, participatory style that characterize Kumasi as a group as well as the genre as a whole. Enjoy!

Credits

released April 16, 2021

Personnel:
Alto Sax, Vocals: Stefan Poole
Vocals, Claves: Kaya Nicole
Vocals, Shekere: Heather Nolan
Vocals, Maracas: Margie Perez
Trumpet: Jeremy Thomas
Trombone: Peter Gustafson
Tenor Sax: Seth Bailin
Baritone Sax: Charlie Kahn
Keyboard/Organ: Joseph Boucha
Tenor Guitar: Or Shovaly
Rhythm Guitar: Orlando Vega
Electric Bass: Jonathan Solomon
Congas: Conga Mike
Drumset: Logan Schutts


Recording Engineers: Paul McDonald, Justin Armstrong
Mixed by Nick Guttman
Mastered by Randall Squires
Artwork by John Isiah Walton
Pressed by New Orleans Record Press

license

all rights reserved

Mystery Zone Record’s 2nd Release
Kumasi, Live at Marigny Studios
180g Pressing, Reverse-Board Jacket
Ltd. 500 Copies

Kumasi may be modern Afrobeat’s best kept secret. Since 2014 the 14-piece powerhouse has meandered from one New Orleans dive to another, performing to a mostly local audience, and often for free. The group, lead by frontman Stefan Poole’s Fela-inspired, yet uniquely New Orleans showmanship, has moved both the genre’s deepest diggers and the most casual of French Quarter tourists to dance.

The group’s live performances are infamously marathons, regularly spanning 3 hours at their Blue Nile residency. Original compositions comprise most setlists: modern, jazz-centric interpretations of Fela’s classic form that incorporate rhythms and stylings from New Orleans and the surrounding Afro-diaspora, namely Cuba, Haiti, and Brazil. The band regularly offers up a deep selection of '70s and '80s Afrobeat and Afro-funk covers from across the African Continent as well- songs that rarely exist outside the cracks of old vinyl, brought back to life in all their original grandeur.

Here, Kumasi presents their third release and first live album, recorded where they feel most at home as a group- on a New Orleans stage in front of a live audience. This performance features four original compositions recorded live for the first time. It’s music that perfectly showcases the infectious mix of heavy rhythms, spontaneous, improvisational musicianship, and inclusive, participatory style that characterize Kumasi as a group as well as the genre as a whole. Enjoy!

Credits

released April 16, 2021

Personnel:
Alto Sax, Vocals: Stefan Poole
Vocals, Claves: Kaya Nicole
Vocals, Shekere: Heather Nolan
Vocals, Maracas: Margie Perez
Trumpet: Jeremy Thomas
Trombone: Peter Gustafson
Tenor Sax: Seth Bailin
Baritone Sax: Charlie Kahn
Keyboard/Organ: Joseph Boucha
Tenor Guitar: Or Shovaly
Rhythm Guitar: Orlando Vega
Electric Bass: Jonathan Solomon
Congas: Conga Mike
Drumset: Logan Schutts


Recording Engineers: Paul McDonald, Justin Armstrong
Mixed by Nick Guttman
Mastered by Randall Squires
Artwork by John Isiah Walton
Pressed by New Orleans Record Press

license

all rights reserved

Watch: Kumasi with Tony Allen at the Music Box Village in New Orleans, 2018

Watch: Cabilão Music Video produced by Cristina Molina using the artwork of John Isiah Walton and Ryn Wilson