7. Feso TromboneFreedom Train
I found Feso Trombone’s music, when I was at the beginning of my own career. I was quite close to his daughter and she gave me his record. Feso used to play in Africa ’70 and he made the record just after he left my father’s group. It was just an awesome record. It was good to listen to it. He had stopped playing professionally when I met him and he is a king now. He is a king in his village. So I think it should be King Feso Trombone at some point in this article!
Was this the beginning of the music your father created being played by other people elsewhere and being inspired by Afrobeat?
Yeah, that was the goal, you know. When my father was alive maybe only some few ex-Egypt ’80 musicians played Afrobeat. But now Afrobeat is its own thing and I’m happy about that. It is really a genre now. It is not just some niche thing that only my family did. I mean, if everybody in my family was wiped out today, Afrobeat would still be played. It has become its own thing and it has become a gift to the world. Not just our legacy anymore.
Lekan Animashaun Baba Ani [Africa ’70/Egypt ’80 saxophone player] also had a big Afrobeat record, Low Profile (Not For The Blacks), which was another heavy album.
