Afro Funk: Kaleta & Super Yamba Band

Description

Afro-funksters Kaleta & Super Yamba Band are fronted by the Benin-born and Lagos, Nigeria-raised Afrobeat and Juju legend Leon Ligan-Majek a.k.a. **Kaleta**. In the late 70s Kaleta was picked up by iconic Juju master and world music pioneer King Sunny Ade. A few years later Fela Kuti came calling. Kaleta would go on to tour the world playing guitar for the King of Afrobeat in his storied band Egypt 80 through the 1980s and into the 1990s before joining Lauryn Hill. He now helms the sleek, funky mothership that is Super Yamba. When it comes to afrobeat, seeing Kaleta onstage is like going back to the source. Kaleta has been leading Super Yamba Band since 2017. Their debut album "Mèdaho," which was released by California indie label Ubiquity Records, draws on the group’s shared reverence for the raw, psychedelic sounds that captivated Kaleta as a music loving kid in 1970s Benin. Mèdaho means "big brother," "elder" or "teacher" and is dedicated to Kaleta's late brother Ligan-Ozavino Pascal who introduced him to funk and soul music at a very early age. The album was included on Bandcamp’s “Best Albums of Summer 2019” list and two of the songs were chosen for the ABC/Hulu series High Fidelity staring Zoe Kravitz. Kaleta and his band have also erupted onto the stages and video screens of major music festivals and music publications across the US. They performed at the historic Apollo Theatre in 2019. They even prompted Action Bronson to stop his own show on VICELAND TV just so he could hear more Yamba. They also performed on Adult Swim’s Fishcenter Live show in 2019. In 2017 they rocked Paste Magazine’s Emerging Music Festival in NYC and after that performance Afropop Worldwide fell in love with Kaleta, saying “**his James Brown grunts have got to be some of the best in the business**!” The members of Super Yamba Band have honed their craft performing with a diverse range of artists such as David Byrne, Rubblebucket, Yeasayer and Between The Buried and Me to name a few. Collaborating over several years with Senegalese griot and talking drum master Modou Mbenge, known best for his work with African pop star Abdou Guite Seck, was a defining moment in the development of Super Yamba's sound and the musician's understanding of African music. Super Yamba has also collaborated with Ghanaian singer Osei Korankye and Guinean singer Ismael Kouyate. VIDEO https://youtu.be/2dfG7JWzm8c?si=4nmsaHngn_em8855 \--- FAQ on tickets, seating, students, photography/video, parking, ADA and more can be found at TheLocalSaugerties.com If you require ADA access, please let us know 24 hours in advance by emailing: [email protected] If you require seats, please consider purchasing reserved seats. There will be limited general admission seats available on a first come first served basis.