Artist: I.K.Dairo
CD: Definitive Dairo (1996)
Label: Xenophile

Another giant of African music has a superb release out, though sadly it is a posthumous one. I.K. Dairo, the juju pioneer who died early this year, is at the peak of his prodigious abilities on Definitive Dairo (Xenophile 4045), a set of recordings made in London in 1971.

This may be the most appealing juju release ever, a perfectly balanced mix of percussion, palm-wine guitar and melodious vocals. I was hooked from the first guitar notes on the opening cut "Okin Omo Ni", and any chance for escape disappeared a few seconds later as the drums and sweet vocals set the hook. The recording is exceptionally clear and warm, a tribute to what can be accomplished with analog equipment.

The voices of Dairo and his chorus could be right in your room, while the depth of drum sounds evokes painful nostalgia for the era before the invention of digital drum machines.

Dairo's individual abilities are awesome as he fluidly switches from guitar to accordion to talking drum, singing with great confidence. His tight band, the Blue Spots, stays right with him, reflecting the disciplined rehearsals that reportedly allowed the band to record all the cuts in one session.

Two songs are tributes to Zaire and its leader, Mobuto Sese Seko, who in 1971 had yet to evolve into the corrupt despot he is today; they each demonstrate Dairo's not unsuccessful effort to incorporate Congolese styles into his juju. Packaged with typical Xenophile class, Definitive Dairo is one of the best African releases of 1996.

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