Ginger Johnson – Talking Head
Thursday, July 23, 2015
When Nigerian master drummer Ginger Johnson arrived in London in 1943 he immediately stood out from the crowd – not just because of the distinctive reddish tinge to his hair that earned him his nickname – but for his ability to create a dazzlingly polyrhythmic blend of African music and jazz.
With the timely reissue of his drum-led 1967 album, African Party (on Freestyle Records), Kevin Le Gendre looks back at his life and music that also embraced the1960s counterculture, work with Ronnie Scott and others on the London jazz scene, appear with The Rolling Stones at their epochal 1969 Hyde Park concert, and how his legacy is gaining fresh momentum today
This is an extract from Jazzwise Issue #199 – to read the full article click here to Subscribe, save money and receive a fantastic FREE CD