Tiliqua 
Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalo :
Uganda -dawn of African Rock- (UK,1972,re.2008)****'
At first listen you think that “Uganda” is rather jammed/improvised collection of rather psychedelic ideas mixed with traditional African ideas, but it’s much more structured and complicated than that.
Ishikawa Akira around that time had been jamming in Tokyo nightclubs, had already developed something that remained a long time interest and investigation in African music. He attracted the attention by someone of the Uganda embassy in Tokyo, who invited him to visit his country where he was treated as an official guest, and where he played and toured and lived with local musicians who taught him also more African rhythms. When he returned to Tokyo, with lots of African percussion instruments (including Zebra hide drums, thumbpianos and African harps), he composed with guitarist Takeru Muraoka and some band members of his previous group, Buffalo, an album inspired by African music, but mixed with a touch of psychedelica, rock, jazz and funk. A great example in their mind was the American trio Lifetime -with John McLauglin (guitar), Tony Williams (drums) and Larry Young (organ) and later for a second album with Cream bassist Jack Bruce-, a band who wanted to expand existing styles, something they now wanted to do as well with African music. The African element is not just the vague idea of a sort of African jamming but the true essence of it, which in parts is left sparsely vividly on its own (with percussion and sing-along singing), divided in themes, while elsewhere, in the bass lines for instance it is adapted outside the rhythms, into the melodic rock themes.
The music is divided into different parts, with breaks, but if you listen closely they hang together as interesting compositions, with times for fuzzing bass intros, African rhythms, wild electric guitars (sometimes a few tones too high, energetically rather freaky, or with some distortion or fuzz), Afro-rock modes (guitar, bass, drums, percussion), hand clap and sing-along response with African percussion, small free parts. My favourite part is the third track, “Vita” which starts with a composed Canterbury-like melodic theme shared speedily by guitar and bass, which is repeated in the middle and makes the conclusion too, a part with thumbpiano lead, African percussion lead, singing, African traditional themes, and a sudden part with a Japanese koto-sound mixed with African instruments, a true inventive and unique Fusion. The last part is a funkier and groovier jam.
The line-up was Ishikawa Akira on drums, percussion, Mizutani on electric guitar, Larry Sunaga on percussion (he was a respected Latin percussionist), Maraoka Takeru for some compositions, Mizutani Kimio (Blue Ace/Out Cast/Adams) on fuzz/distorted guitar, Chihara Hideaki (=Takebe Hideaki, from Adams) on bass.
The liner notes mentions that Ishikawa Akira didn’t stop with his interest in African music. He arranged tours for African musicians, opened a restaurant with African food and live African music, continued to visit Africa many times, where he set up a project to support African street children through music, and finally retired in Kenya, where he died in 2002.
This album was taken from the master tapes and was done in cooperation with the musicians. A unique artefact.
