Zombie - a Tony Allen masterclass
Zombie was perhaps the finest single moment of Tony Allen, who passed away last Thursday. I'll never forget the first time I heard "Zombie" in 2004. I was about to see Femi Kuti play at London's Barbican as part of the festival Black President: the Art and the Legacy of Fela Kuti , curated to celebrate his father's legacy. My date had stood me up at the 11th hour and I found myself on my own in the venue, having never heard of Fela Kuti; it was my date's idea but I was keen to go having visited South Africa the year before and fallen in love with African music. There was no support act (you don't support a Kuti!) but a short documentary instead played. The music that accompanied the opening was "Zombie" and I'll never forget it when the lights went down and those opening notes, the sax and first kick beat filled the auditorium: Described by Brian Eno as "perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived", Tony Allen spent a li...