“There is no question that Tony Allen is a genius, one of the greatest percussionists in the history of popular music.” —Guardian (UK)
During his 15 years as an anchor of Fela Kuti’s legendary Africa ’70 ensemble, the self-taught Tony Allen became widely acknowledged as one of the world’s best percussionists. With Fela out front, Allen essentially created the beat behind Afrobeat, fusing Nigerian rhythms with American jazz, funk, and soul for a hard-driving, hornsrich, politically insurrectionary genre that has been a dominant force in African music and a huge global influence since the 1970s. His latest solo recording, Secret Agent, has been hailed as a magisterial return to hardcore Afrobeat. For his Minneapolis debut, he brings to the stage a cadre of nine musicians and singers from around the globe.
Copresented with the Cedar.
