Tony Allen Biography by Craig Harris + Follow Artist. What a wildman with a massive, kind and free heart and the deepest one-of-a-kind … He once said Art Blakey must have been a magician because it sounded like more than one person was sitting behind the kit. He died Thursday.The musician suffered a sudden aortic rupture and was taken to Pompidou Hospital in Paris, Eric Trosset said.Allen was the drummer and musical director of Fela Kuti's band Africa 70 in the 1960s and '70s, and most recently played alongside Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn as part of the supergroup The Good, the Bad and the Queen.Afrobeats, a pulsating West African style of music, was popularized by its pioneer, the late musician and political activist Kuti in the 1960s.Kuti, described as one of Africa's biggest stars, used its groovy beats and his song lyrics as a commentary to speak against the military government in Nigeria at the time.But a new generation of Afrobeats artists has gained success and recognition internationally through the music genre, though they've steered clear of political references in their music.Allen on stage at the Melkweg in Amsterdam in March 1988.Nigerian-American rapper Jidenna described Allen as "The Godfather of Afrobeat Rhythms" and said his sound changed lives.
The Good, the Bad & the Queen Rocket Juice & the Moon. Genres: Afrobeat, Afro-Jazz, Nu Jazz. They are gone, but they are not gone for me," she said.On Instagram, she said that Allen had "changed the history of African music".Ghanaian rapper M.anifest tweeted that Allen "put the beat in afrobeat" and thanked him "for a lifetime of being quietly epic". I recently got right up close to the stage to study the flow of Tony Allen's hands and feet. Tony Allen has been described as "perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived" Get the latest updated stats for shooting guard Tony Allen on ESPN. He didn't seem to age much and looked set to keep drumming for many more years.As he put it: "I'm looking forward to the future because it's a long, long way to go.
Submit Corrections. What a wildman with a massive, kind and free heart and the deepest one-of-a-kind groove. The epic Tony Allen, the greatest drummer on earth has left us.
These are external links and will open in a new windowPioneering Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, a co-founder of the afrobeat musical genre, died in Paris on Thursday aged 79, his manager says.Eric Trosset told NPR radio that he had died of a heart attack. "What a wildman, with a massive, kind and free heart and the deepest one-of-a-kind groove," Allen's career and life story were documented in his 2013 autobiography Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat.Allen, who was born in Lagos in 1940, taught himself how to play drums when he was 18.He said he learnt his technique by listening closely to American jazz drummers Art Blakey and Max Roach. Tony Allen is an actor, known for Blue Tornado (1991), Number 96 (1972) and Homicide (1964). Thank you for giving us the sound that would change our lives and our destiny as a people. Tony Oladipo Allen was born on Aug. 12, 1940, in Lagos, then the capital of Nigeria. Fela needed four separate drummers to fill the void.Allen emigrated to London in 1984, and later moved to Paris.He collaborated with a number of artists during his long music career, and was the drummer in The Good, the Bad & the Queen, with Damon Albarn, Paul Simenon and Simon Tong.There is a beautiful bounce to Tony Allen's drumming style that makes any track he played on instantly recognisable. Tony Oladipo Allen . Nigerian drummer Tony Allen at the Glastonbury festival in June 2010. He was forever learning, forging new musical relationships and evolving his sound. Tony Allen, Actor: Blue Tornado. Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Victor Olaiya: Nigeria's 'evil genius' trumpeter who influenced Fela Kuti Manu Dibango: The saxophone legend who inspired a disco groove He then created the distinctive polyphonic rhythms of afrobeat and was said to be able to play four different beats with each of his limbs.Allen first met Fela in 1964, and they went on to record dozens of albums in Africa '70, including Gentleman and Zombie.Allen left the band in 1979, after reported rifts with the band leader over royalties. Fela Kuti did not invent afrobeat, Fela and Tony birthed it... Rest In Power to Tony Allen, The Godfather of Afrobeat Rhythms. Flea, the bassist for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, who spent time with Allen in London, called him "one of the greatest drummers to ever walk this earth" and described him as his "hero". Allen, who was born in Lagos in 1940, taught himself how to play drums when he was 18. Allen has also been described by UK musician Brian Eno as "perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived".Trosset led tributes in a Facebook post saying "your eyes saw what most couldn't see... as you used to say: 'There is no end'".Beninois singer Angelique Kidjo told the BBC's Newsday programme that she had been hit hard by both Allen's death and the passing of "What I want to remember from them is our musical conversation, our laughter, our joy.
AFP said his death was not linked to coronavirus.Allen was the drummer and musical director of musician Fela Kuti's famous band Africa '70 in the 1960-70s.Fela, as he was widely known, died in 1997. That's not to say he stood still. The combination of the bass, snare and hi-hat is uniquely Tony Allen-flavoured, whether you are listening to him as the driving force behind Fela Kuti's band in the 1970s, on his own hypnotic 1999 album Black Voices or playing live last year alongside Damon Albarn with The Good, The Bad and the Queen. Allen is credited with inventing the afrobeat genre with Fela Kuti These are external links and will open in a new window Member Of. He once said that "without Tony Allen, there would be no afrobeat".Afrobeat combines elements of West Africa's fuji music and highlife styles with American funk and jazz. Albums include Song Machine: How Far?, Nigeria 70: The Definitive Story of 1970s Funky Lagos, and Progress. There's no end. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.The epic Tony Allen, the greatest drummer on earth has left us.