(Jazz, Funk, Afrobeat, Bossa) Kojato and The Afro Latin Cougaritas - All About Jazz (2011) [WEB], MP3, 320 kbps

Oliver Belz, the man behind The Juju Orchestra, The Bahama Soul Club, regular guests of our 21st Century Latin mixes, is back with another new project, Kojato and The Afro Latin Cougaritas that's as much nu-jazz as it's 60s soul, 70s funk and afro-latin grooves. The Everywhere You Go Now Kuti kinda-tribute to Fela track is disturbing, it's not afrobeat at all, more of a Juju Orchestra latin thing with funky keyboards. Not that it's bad, but doesn't fit anywhere really, even though it should grace many groovy-lounge compilations in the coming months... African music lovers should go instead directly to the second half of the album, with tracks such as Afro Shigida (Original Lagos Cut), a glamourous take on afro-soul-jazz that'll grace our upcoming Bag of Goodies mix recorded last weekend with records labels and artists have sent to us during the last months. All in all this album's full of funky afro-latin-jazz for the modern rare groove dancefloors, just like the previous Oliver Belz productions: classy & smart, with a nice suit & moustache!
Kojato, one of the most promising projects of modern Afro-Jazz, started in 2010 with an amazing feature on the Bahama Soul Club‘s bestseller-album Bossa Nova Just Smells Funky. His first track was called Afro Shigida and was one of the highlights on this release. Producer Oliver Belz, the man behind The Bahama Soul Club and The Juju Orchestra was deeply impressed by the combined talents of the fabulous keyboard player and arranger André Neundorf and the inimitable multi-instrumentalist and singer Kojo Ebenezer Samuels.
Kojo "the priest of music" was born 1943 in Monrovia and became one of the most well known musicians from Liberia when he worked with Fela Kuti and Cecil Taylor.
Belz says: "So what you get from this man is a spirited joyful player with nothing more than sparkling energy. Spontaneous and immediate with a spot on social critism and illuminating stories full of wisdom and truth. He's "All About Jazz", believe me.”
So what‘s the difference between Kojato and other Nu, Club, Afro or whatever-Jazz projects? Kojato is better! Really, simply great music with a colourful sound, combining afrolicious Bossa-Jazz with 70s Funk and 60s Soul out of temporary fashion. It‘s always hard to resist. The positive vibes transcends boundaries, language, colour boundaries. It always moves forward. It's not doing in and out of flavour, - It's just gonna be there.
The first album All About Jazz comes with 10 tracks of finest Afro Jazz that captures the musical spirit of a lifetime. Kojato, a world traveller in Jazz finally brings it all together: Afro, Latin, Soul, Gypsy & World-Jazz.
He obviously knows all the routes Jazz can take and defines a new place the audience can land.

All about jazz - All about jazz is like all about life. When heaven meets earth in harmonie, changing our crazy world into a world of beauty, peace and freedom with a foundation based on love for all. Kojato, ananasha Afro Shigida - Shigida is a vision, seeing the whole wild world in the street, on the plattforms on the underground- stations, on the schoolgrounds, in the offices, just everywhere you can think of. Hey, what a moment, feeling your body, everyone dancing, mooving, spending energy, soulful joy driven bei the beat of Shigida. Oudo Makasan - The Sounds of my soul sometimes, it‘s just a language of my heart - words, flying in the air to be spoken - and whoever hears it, feels it or not. Nevertheless Oudo Makasan is a person, who seeks all live long some love, light and strenght. It ́s a happy song. Good Morning Afrika - Being a son of this great country - AFRICA and knowing that we have been living with the light, the sunshine, as little children learning to understand the beauty and clearness of this light. now in awakening, realising that this light burns constantly in us with the message, that we should keep it on. Don ́t give it up that good. Everything happens like it should. We just do it - we follow the light. Obladi, Oblada, life goes on my brother, my sister. I say good morning to Africa. Funky Man - Funky - i believe - is a kind of musical terminology. When something smells, whether a good or bad smell, a smell you can feel, situations where you smell the beat, that music - the smell of the sounds - the smell of the sweat of the dancing bodies - wow - a crazy vibration, THAT smells funky. Now YOU get funky ... Lot ́s of fun with Funky Man!! KOJATO, 2011

Kojato & The Afro Latin Cougaritas - Produced by Oliver Belz
All tracks written & performed by KOJO EBENEZER SAMUELS, ANDRÉ NEUNDORF & OLIVER BELZ
Additional Musicians :
ALL ABOUT JAZZ - Background Voc.: Pat Appleton
EVERYWHERE YOU GO NOW - Background Voc.: Pat Appleton, Tina Lux, Guitar: Helge Preuss, Horns: Christian Winninghoff
LIKE A GYPSY - Guitar: Helge Preuss
FEEL SEXY feat. TINA LUX - Guitar: Helge Preuss, Horns: Christian Winninghoff
THAT KIND OF FEELING feat. PAT APPLETON - Guitar: Claus Hartisch, Sopran: York
OUDO MAKASAN - Background Voc.: Britta Rex, Suse Möhle, Guitar: Helge Preuss, Bariton: York, Drums: Eddie Filipp
AFRO SHIGIDA (Original Lagos Cut) - Guitar: Claus Hartisch, Drums: Andy Lindner
GOOD MORNING AFRICA - Background Voc.: Britta Rex
FUNKY MAN - Background Voc.: Britta Rex, Horns: Christian Winninghoff, York, Guitar: Claus Hartisch
LET LOOSE - Guitar: Helge Preuss
All songs published by B.O.M.P. big-O-music publishing/Germany
Recorded by André Neundorf at lola-planet-complex, add. recordings, mixed & mastered by Oliver Belz at Mount Belzoni Studios
Artwork: The Uncle