The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #40305   Message #575835
Posted By: Bennet Zurofsky
19-Oct-01 - 05:00 PM
Thread Name: Olu Dara
Subject: Olu Dara
I was surprised that my search of this site turned up no reference of any sort to this remarkable musician. Mudcatters should check him out. He first became known as an avant garde jazz trumpet player with the likes of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Lester Bowie. More recently, however, he has turned to recording songs of his own composition.

His songs are remarkable. I think of them as being in a category of their own which I have labeled "African Diaspora." Dara's songs seem to combine all of the many musics of the African Diaspora: blues, calypso, highlife, reggae, plena, jazz, etc. into a new and enjoyable sound. His lyrics appropriately address the varieties of Black experience.

Has anyone else out there listened to Dara? What do you think?