Ginger Johnson & His African Messengers - African Party (1967) [Remastered 2015]

African Party, the single album released by 'Ginger' Foloruso Johnson and his African Messengers band, has long been considered something of a hard-to-find classic. Originally released in 1967, the energetic and effervescent set here gets a deserved re-issue on Freestyle. Musically, it's something of a melting pot, sitting somewhere between Afro-Cuban fusion, Afrobeat, funk and jazz-dance - all dense, intense rhythms, spiraling horns, fluttering flute lines and high-octane thrills. Certainly, it's a thoroughly entertaining set, packed full of highlights. These include the sharp sax lines, Afrobeat bass and rolling grooves of "A You Momma", and "Hi Life", whose wild trumpets and saxophones offer the perfect foil for the cacophonous drums.