Osibisa Black Magic Night

Esteemed Afro-rock fusion band and world music pioneers Osibisa have enjoyed a long reign, with unwavering popularity, despite numerous line-up changes. Saxophonist Teddy Osei, drummer Sol Amarfio and flautists Mamon Shareef and Farhan Freere had all been in the highlife band The Star Gazers in Ghana, and were joined by Osei’s trumpeter brother, Mac Tontoh, in spin-off group, The Comets; after moving the London in the early 1960s, Osei formed short-lived fusion band, Cat’s Paw, and after convincing Tontoh and Amarfio to join him in London, Osibisa was formed with the Antiguan guitarist and vocalist, Wednell Richardson, Grenadian bassist Spartacus R, Nigerian percussionist Loughty Lasisi Amao, and Trinidadian keyboardist, Robert Bailey; a contract with Mercury brought greater exposure. Always strong in live performance, this excellent double-LP set was captured at London’s Royal Festival Hall in 1977, with the group delivering spot-on renditions of their best-known works, from the extended opening invocation of “The Dawn” to the irresistible grooves of “Welcome Home” and “Sunshine Day.”