Gentleman cover

Gentleman

Released

“Gentleman” is one of Fela Kuti’s angriest and most masterful songs. Originally released in 1973, the lyrics decry African men who wear European clothing, in line with the cover image: a monkey’s head pasted onto a suit (likely worn by a child, as the clothes fall loosely in a pile). Musically, it’s a killer jazz-funk workout, with Kuti blowing a fierce, almost King Curtis-esque sax melody over electric piano, multiple guitars, a raucous horn section, and Tony Allen’s complex rhythms for the first nine minutes of its 14-minute running time. The two shorter tracks on the album’s flip side, “Fefe Naa Efe” and “Igbe,” are a looser, jazzier meditation and a taut, James Brown-style workout, respectively.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Kool and the Gang cover

Kool and the Gang

Kool & the Gang
Funky Donkey, Vols. 1 & 2 cover

Funky Donkey, Vols. 1 & 2

Luther Thomas, Saint Louis Creative Ensemble, Human Arts Ensemble
No Mystery cover

No Mystery

Return to Forever, Chick Corea
Fire Illuminations cover

Fire Illuminations

Wadada Leo Smith, Orange Wave Electric
Head Hunters cover

Head Hunters

Herbie Hancock
It's Just Begun cover

It's Just Begun

The Jimmy Castor Bunch
One For Me cover

One For Me

Shirley Scott
Radio Music Society cover

Radio Music Society

Esperanza Spalding
Montreux Jazz Festival cover

Montreux Jazz Festival

Ronald Shannon Jackson & the Decoding Society
The Path cover

The Path

Chien Chien Lu
A Go Go cover

A Go Go

John Scofield
Galactic Warrior cover

Galactic Warrior

Santiago Bosch