King Sunny Ade

continued

With interest in African music on the rise again here, Ade has begun to return to the United States more frequently. He appeared at Tennessee's Bonnaroo festival, but many of his concerts have been in quieter spots like the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Ade's accompanying groups have ranged between ten and sixteen musicians, fewer than the kinetic orchestra that played Soldier Field but likely more than enough to bring an idea of what one of the planet's true musical masters is all about when they arrive next at the Ark, where its occasional shows featuring major African musicians have been uniformly successful for many years.   

[Originally published in April, 2010.]