Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

OLATUNJI, Babatunde

(b 7 April '27, Ajido, Nigeria; d 6 April 2003, Big Sur CA) Virtuoso drummer, able to sound like a whole band with a few drums; one of the best-known African musicians, with LPs on Columbia c'60 but few since. He had arrived in the USA '50 to go to college in Atlanta, and astonished the other students by sitting in with jazz musicians; he saw Desi Arnaz singing 'Babalu' on TV and was astonished in his turn, recognizing a Cuban corruption of a Yoruban song. Ignorance of Africa was rife, and by the mid-'60s media interest in Africa had waned again and his Columbia contract was not renewed. He established a school in Harlem, the Olatunji Center for African Culture, where John Coltrane played his last concert (Trane was hoping to work with Olatunji and study the Yoruba language when he died '67). Rediscovered by the indefatigable sparkplug Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead drummer), he made his first albums in many years, The Drums Of Passion: The Beat and The Drums Of Passion: The Invocation were both made in ten days for Rykodisc early in '86. The Beat Of My Drum '87 on Blue Heron had 17 musicians including Carlos Santana (who had covered his 'Jingo' on his first album), ten drummers including Airto, five-strong chorus, twelve-minute version of 'Akiwowo' (from Drums Of Passion '59, produced by John Hammond) with a solo by Santana, proceeds to help establish a Centre of African Performing Arts in Ajido; the record should be sent to 'all the electronic drum manufacturers and players, as a reminder of where the drum originated and what it really sounds like' (Diane Patrick in Wire). Planet Drum '91 on Rykodisc featured Hart, Airto, Flora Purim and many others, winning a Grammy for Hart and Rykodisc; live Love Drum Talk '98 on Chesky may be his best. Bear Family compiled all the Columbia work in four-CD set Drums Of Passion And More '94.