Babá Ken Okulolo
Encyclopedia
Babá Ken Okulolo is a Nigerian bassist
and bandleader
who was first seen in the U.S. in 1985 with King Sunny Ade
's world-touring band. He has played with renowned Afrobeat
creator Fela Anikulapo Kuti, highlife
master Victor Olaiya
, and was a founder of the Afro-rock group Monomono in the 1970s. Now based in the San Francisco Bay Area, he leads four bands that represent his various musical specialties: Kotoja (an international Afro-funk band); the Nigerian Brothers (traditional folk music); the West African Highlife Band (highlife hits of yesteryear); and the Afro-Beat Connexion (modern Afrobeat collaboration with other African and American musicians). Babá Ken has also headlined such venues as Lincoln Center, The Fillmore, The Warfield
, LACMA, the Oakland Coliseum, Yoshi's, The Greek Theater
, and the Great American Music Hall
.
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
who was first seen in the U.S. in 1985 with King Sunny Ade
King Sunny Adé
King Sunny Adé is a popular performer of Yoruba Nigerian Jùjú music and a pioneer of modern world music. He has been classed as one of the most influential musicians of all time.-Background:...
's world-touring band. He has played with renowned Afrobeat
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a combination of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularised in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave it its name, who used it to...
creator Fela Anikulapo Kuti, highlife
Highlife
Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920...
master Victor Olaiya
Victor Olaiya
Victor Abimbola Olaiya, or 'Dr Victor Olaiya', is a Nigerian trumpeter who plays in the Highlife style. He was possibly the biggest star in Nigeria in the 1950s and early 1960s, but received little recognition outside of Nigeria...
, and was a founder of the Afro-rock group Monomono in the 1970s. Now based in the San Francisco Bay Area, he leads four bands that represent his various musical specialties: Kotoja (an international Afro-funk band); the Nigerian Brothers (traditional folk music); the West African Highlife Band (highlife hits of yesteryear); and the Afro-Beat Connexion (modern Afrobeat collaboration with other African and American musicians). Babá Ken has also headlined such venues as Lincoln Center, The Fillmore, The Warfield
The Warfield
The Warfield, also known as The Warfield Theater, is a 2,300 seat music venue located at 982 Market Street, San Francisco, California. It was built as a vaudeville theater, and opened as the Loews Warfield on May 13, 1922.-History:...
, LACMA, the Oakland Coliseum, Yoshi's, The Greek Theater
Hearst Greek Theatre
The William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, known locally as simply the Greek Theatre, is an 8,500-seat amphitheater owned and operated by the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California, USA....
, and the Great American Music Hall
Great American Music Hall
The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theater...
.
Albums
- 1976 - Ken Okulolo Talkin' Bass Experience (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd)
- 1990 - Babá Ken and Kotoja Freedom Is What Every Body Needs (Inner Spirit Records)
- 1991 - Babá Ken and Kotoja Freedom Is What Every Body Needs (Mesa/Blue Moon Recordings (Re-Issued))
- 1992 - Kotoja "Sawale" (Mesa/Blue Moon Recordings Inc.)
- 1994 - Kotoja "Super Sawale" (Putumayo World Music)
- 1998 - West African Highlife Band Salute To Highlife Pioneers" (Inner Spirit Recordings)
- 2001 - Babá Ken Okulolo & The Nigerian Brothers Songs From The Village (Inner Spirit Recordings)
- 2008 - Babá Ken Okulolo and the Afro Groove Connexion "Deep Down Beat" (Inner Spirit Recordings)
- 2009 - Babá Ken Okulolo "We Are All From Africa" (Inner Spirit Recordings)
Contributions
- 1971 - Monomono - Adele (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd)
- 1972 - Monomono - Give a Beggar a Chance (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd)
- 1973 - Monomono - Dawn of Awareness (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd)
- 1978 - Emma Dorgu We Need Freedom (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd)
- 1979 - Tee Mac Collections Wake Up (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd)
- 1983 - Orlando Julius Ekemode Dance Afro-Beat (Afrobeat Recordings Inc.)
- 1995 - King Sunny Ade E Dide/Get Up (Mesa/Blue Moon Recordings)
- 1996 - Bata Ketu Bata Ketu (Bembé Records)
- 1998 - Chalo Eduardo "Samba Nova" (Carnaval Records)
- 1998 - King Sunny Ade Odu (Atlantic/Mesa Recordings)
- 2003 - Kelly Takunda Orphan "Give It To The People" (All Of One Records)