All Music Guide,
Album Review
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Chopteeth have already proved themselves to be the up-and-coming American Afro-beat band in the studio, but the real test is how they work on-stage. That's the undoubted reason for this live album, for which they've pulled out all the stops, adding extra players ("the Afrofunk Big Band") and, as ever, pulling tunes from many different sources. As well as the inevitable Fela Kuti covers, there's Duke Ellington and a version of Tabu Ley Rochereau's "Gagne Perdu." The performances, from three different D.C. venues, are electric, the tunes stretched out to give ample room for solos, and there's some outstanding playing from all the group members, often bouncing off each other to send a piece spiraling higher and higher (as with the opener, "J.J.D."). It's a relentless orgasm of rhythm and sound where even Ellington becomes African, and the music is as convincing as anything to come out of Lagos -- which is the highest possible praise. 01/21/11
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