Peter King - 1976 - Omo Lewa

Peter King

1976

Omo Lewa

01. Omo Lewa

02. Yere Africa

03. Afro-Funk

04. Eda

05. Ajo

06. Congo

07. Ko Dara

Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Piano, Violin, Vocals, Written-By – Peter King

Nigerian born band leader and multi-instrumentalist Peter King came into the world in 1976. From start to finish, King weaves afrobeat, highlife, and jazz with mesmerizing skill. Long out of print, this album contains some of the prolific artist's finest work. Highlights like 'Afro-Funk' and 'Ajo' have been singeing slipmats via recent African compilations and whetting the appetites of numerous music fans. As prices on the collector's market reiterate, this pent up demand has made Omo Lewa Peter King's most sought after LP. In addition, overlooked tracks like 'Omo Lewa,' 'Eda,' and 'Ko Dara' help solidify what is surely one of King's most consistently hard hitting records. Recorded in London, it marks the second release by King on Orbitone Records, a relationship spanning from 1975-1978 and yielding four studio albums. It signaled a further refinement of his arrangement and compositional skills, and exists in stark contrast to Miliki Sounds, his predominately highlife-centric Orbitone debut. Throughout a career spanning the late 1950s through today, King has maintained his roots in the Western African music he grew up with, while expanding his formal musical education in London at the Trinity School of Music, the same school both Ebo Taylor and Fela Kuti attended. The results are a rich sonic palette of funk, highlife, and jazz executed with the acumen and precision of a master.

A great one from Nigerian bandleader, composer and multi-instrumentalist Peter King -- working in a funkier mode here than on the more jazz and roots based groove of his first record! The highlife sound is still a vital component, but on this one, Peter embraces a harder hitting approach on the percussion end, with some straight up Afro Funk elements that suits it incredibly well. It's got a hypnotic vibe throughout! King handles a lot of the instrumentation himself, including saxes, flute, piano, string, some percussion and the soulful vocals