Various Artists - London Is The Place For Me 6: Mento, Calypso, Jazz And Highlife From Young Black London

Honest Jon’s

£20.97

Format: gatefold 2xLP
Cat: HJRLP 062
Release Date: 5th April 2013
Genre: Jazz

6th volume in HJ’s longest ongoing, wonderful, clever & beautifully presented series

A1 Dizzy Reece: The Escape
A2 Mighty Terror: Life In Britain
A3 Lord Kitchener: Romance On The Queen Mary
A4 King Timothy: Jiu Jitsu Calypso
A5 Buddy Pipp’s Highlifers: Sway
B1 Fitzroy Coleman Quintet: Uncle Joe
B2 Lord Beginner: The Joe Louis Calypso
B3 Tony Johnson: Marilyn Monroe Calypso
B4 Lili Verona: Big Instrument
B5 Ginger Johnson: Mambo Contempo
C1 King Timothy: Football Calypso
C2 West African Rhythm Brothers: Asikoloto
C3 Rupert Nurse’s Calypso Band: Song Of Joy
C4 Buddy Pipp’s Highlifers: Positive Action
C5 Tony Johnson: Me Donkey Want Water
D1 Eric Hayden: Belly Lick
D2 Rupert Nurse’s Calypso Band: Calypso Rhythm Dance
D3 Buddy Pipp’s Highlifers: Prospero
D4 Mighty Terror: The Queen Is In
D5 West African Rhythm Brothers: Nigeria Odowoyin

At last, fresh installments in our acclaimed, much-loved series: open-hearted, bitter-sweet, mash-up postcards to the here and now, from young black London. As then, calypso carries the swing. There are four more Lord Kitchener songs — in consideration of his wife leaving him for a GI, cricket umpires, a fling onboard an ocean-liner and West Indian poultry — besides a hot mambo cash-in, cross-bred under his supervision, and an uproarious, teasing Ghanaian tribute to him in Fanti by London visitors The Quavers. Other calypsos range compellingly from the devaluation of the pound through jiu jitsu, big rubbery instruments, football fans, heavyweight champ Joe Louis and the sexual allure of English women police. The Mighty Terror contributes the woe-begotten, cautionary tale of his beloved Patricia's change of heart: ’I cannot believe, not for one moment / She gone with Millicent... / You may think I am jocular / But this really happened in Manchester / I felt so ashamed, my friends laughed at me / I had to take a train for London city.’ Ambrose Campbell is back, with six more shots of prodigal, limber, melancholic, visionary West African highlife. Also the Rolling Stones’ favourite Ginger Johnson, with a percussive Latin scorcher; and Mona Baptiste, with some wonderful, soulful exotica. Jamaican mento makes its first entry in the series, with a brace by Tony Johnson: a drily witty drinking-song, and a love-letter to Marilyn Monroe. Also finally getting some dues, the path-breaking Latin-African-jazz experiments of Ghanaian drummer and percussionist Buddy Pipp, with spine-tingling playing by the great Jamaican saxophonist Joe Harriott. Expert jazz idioms course sophisticatedly through all the selections, which include a straight-up, South London version of Duke Jordan’s Jordhu, something from Dizzy Reece’s soundtrack — brokered by Kenneth Tynan — to the British crime film Nowhere To Go, and a trio of magnificently hybrid, hard-swinging instrumentals led in turn by master-guitarist Fitzroy Coleman, Kitch’s innovative arranger Rupert Nurse, and trumpeter Shake Keane — named after Shakespeare because of his love of poetry — from St. Vincent. Proper Brit Pop.