The king of Sudanese jazz

In Sudan, as in many African countries, if you made music in the 1960s with electric guitars and electric keyboards and a drum trap kit (all newly introduced on the continent), you probably called it "jazz."  You might have been playing rock 'n' roll or R&B or Cuban rumba or local styles on the new instruments -- didn't matter, it was all jazz.

Sharhabil Ahmed, still with us at age 84, is the King of Sudanese Jazz, crowned in a 1970s contest and never dethroned.  His sound, a unique mixture of traditional Sudanese music with early 60s rock, surf, funk, Congolese music and East African harmonies, is the soundtrack of the the swinging 60s in Khartoum.  Sharhabil has been anthologized for the first time ever, by Berlin's Habibi Funk Records, and you'll hear one of his tracks this week on Global A Go-Go.

Also this week (Monday August 3, 3:00-5:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): throat-singing Hank Williams; trippy cumbia; more IPM (intelligent pop music) from Brazil; two great central African guitar tracks; and John Lee Hooker crashes a Balkan beats dance party.

Podcast: radio4all.net/index.php/program/106282
All the podcasts: radio4all.net/index.php/series/Global+A+Go-Go


Artist | Country | Song | Recording | Label | Year

Oliver Lake | USA | Separation | Matador Of 1st & 1st | Passin' Thru | 1997
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros | England UK | Global A Go-Go | Global A Go-Go | Hellcat | 2001

Albert Kuvezin & Yat-Kha | Tuva Republic Russia | Ramblin Man | Re-Covers | World Village | 2005
Anda Union | Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region China | Boomborai | The Wind Horse | Hohhot | 2011
Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn | China-USA | Four Seasons | Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn | Smithsonian Folkways | 2020

Cumbia En Moog | Colombia | Cumbia De Sal | Cumbia De Sal - single | Discos Fuentes | 1979
Bio Ritmo | RVA USA | Pajaro Pio Pio | Puerta Del Sur | Vampisoul | 2014
Chico Trujillo | Chile-Argentina-USA | Los Nervios Que Te Di (feat Kevin Johansen) | Reina De Todas Las Fiestas | Barbes | 2015
Minyo Crusaders & Frente Cumbiero | Japan-Colombia | Mambonegro Dai Sakusen | From Toyko To Bogota | Mais Um | 2020

Sharhabil Ahmed | Sudan | Zulum Aldunya | The King Of Sudanese Jazz | Habibi Funk | 196x
The Scorpions & Saif Abu Bakr | Sudan | Kaif Halo | Jazz, Jazz, Jazz | Habibi Funk | 1980
Ali Hassan Kuban | Egypt | Artasu Nartasu | Walk Like A Nubian | Piranha | 1991

Tim Maia | Brazil | Do Leme Ao Pontal | Do Leme Ao Pontal - single | Seroma | 1980
Andre Abujamra | Brazil-Burkina Faso-Argentina | Alma Nao Tem Cor - Multi 25 (feat Smarty & Perota Chingo) | Alma Nao Tem Cor - Multi 25 - single | Tratore | 2020
Lenine | Brazil | O Homem Dos Olhos De Raio X | Falange Canibal | BMG Brasil | 2002
Banda Uniao Black | Brazil | Everyone's A Winner | Banda Uniao Black | Vampisoul | 2006

Pedro Lima | Sao Tome | Leonensi Sa Tindadji | Maguidala | Bongo Joe | 1985
Los Camaroes | Cameroon | Belon Sala | Resurrection Los | Analog Africa | 1979

John Lee Hooker | USA | Boom Boom | Boom Boom - single | Vee Jay | 1962
Dzambo Agusevi Orchestra | North Macedonia-Bosnia & Herzegovina | Old Bazaar Groove (DJ Branski remix) | Old Bazaar Groove (DJ Branski remix) - single | Asphalt Tango | 2020
Dubioza Kolektiv | Bosnia & Herzegovina-North Macedonia | Boom (feat Dzambo Agusevi Orchestra) | Happy Machine | Koolarrow | 2016
Magnifico | Slovenia | Hir Aj Kam Hir Aj Go | Export Import | Sony / Epic | 2003
Shantel | Germany | Disko Partizani (Marcus Darius meets Tricky Cris remix) | BalkanBeats: A Night In Berlin | Piranha | 2009
Balkan Beat Box | Israel-USA | Look Them Act | Blue Eyed Black Boy | Nat Geo Music | 2010