Sir Victor Uwaifo: Guitar-Boy Superstar, 1970-76

Label: Soundway

Uwaifo is one of the greats of Nigerian music. This 19-track compilation of album cuts and singles focuses on the highlife sub-genre he invented, Akwete, a rhythmic embodiment of his synesthesia, and his subsequent hybrid based on the Ekassa rhythm that he took from a traditional coronation dance. This is only a small portion of his career, which after some dues-paying found him first recording as a leader in 1963, but it’s impossible to complain about what is heard on this disc’s 75 minutes. Everything’s funky in a happy/mellow rather than hard-driven way; the occasional bit of psychedelic-influenced strangeness adds a frisson of culture-clash. The booklet includes an informative review of Uwaifo’s career and his own synopsis of each track. Besides the expected CD, there is also a limited- edition two-LP version.