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ALBINO! is a San Francisco-based, ten piece Afrobeat ensemble that honors the fiery
legacy of Nigerian musical icon and political outlaw Fela Kuti.
photo:rudin swagerman
ALBINO!’s high-energy grooves and explosive stage show are thick with hypnotic percussion, heavy horns,African dance, wild costumes and elaborate group choreography. To date, the group
has won an East Bay Express Best of the Bay Award for “Best Band” and an SF
Music Award for “Best World Music Band”.
Armed with Fela’s three preferred weapons of choice, front man Michael Bello
contributes lead vocals, saxes, and keyboards to ALBINO!’s intricately layered groove.
Bello’s deep vocal growl gives potent, stout-hearted resonance to the band’s socially
conscious lyrical messages, another key component of Afrobeat tradition.
The four-piece ALBINO! horn section’s boldly-syncopated barrage packs a killer
whallop, while their individual solo improvisations routinely reach dizzying climaxes.
Alongside Bello on tenor sax is ALBINO! co-founder Nathan Endsley, a former
contributor to the trance/world-beat ensemble Hamsa Lila. Riding the upper reaches of
the section’s spectrum is trumpeter Chris Brown. Baritone saxophonist Pat Byers,
formerly of the globe trotting pan-African funk ensemble Aphrodesia, fattens up the
horn section’s “heavy heavy” bottom end.
Anchoring the ALBINO! rhythm section from behind the drum kit is Julian Fritz. A native
Oregonian, Julian is a veteran of SF’s eclectic world groove outfit Gamelan X.
Dancer/chekere player Kim Agnew fuses West African, Cuban, and Salsa dance styles
into her electrifying style of motion and rhythm. Agnew currently performs with several
folklore companies and teaches a multi-cultural dance and music outreach program for
inner city youth with the San Francisco Ballet.
Tenor guitarist Cal Reichenbach is a seasoned teacher and producer who has toured
and recorded with Aphrodesia, and also performs in the jazz funk group SOCKET. On
rhythm guitar is Jacob Groopman, an accomplished bluegrass and jazz guitarist who
studied at the Oberlin Conservatory. Aaron Bortz from the Humboldt based Afrobeat
group Afro Massive holds it down deeply on bass.
Covering congas in ALBINO! is percussionist Matthew Smith, a former member of the
late SF afro-jam outfit The Flux. Smith developed his afro-cuban technique with
percussion masters in Ghana, Mexico, NY and SF.
The ensemble is working on another album right now that should be out within the next year. Also undergoing a few changes, some new members will be joining this amazing group in the months to come!
Upcoming Shows:
DATE VENUE LOCATION
03/20 The Independent SF, CA
04/22 Hopmonk Tavern Sebastopol, CA
04/23 Red Fox Tavern Eureka, CA
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