Tony Allen, the pioneering drummer who helped defined Afrobeat during his tenure with Fela Kuti, died Thursday. Rolling Stone has confirmed Allen’s death, yet a cause of death was not immediately available. Sahara Reporters first reported that Allen died in his now-native Paris, France.
A self-taught drummer who didn’t pick up the sticks until his late teens, Allen helped revolutionize the art of drumming as a member of Kuti’s Africa 70 outfit. The Lagos, Nigerian-born Allen first began performing alongside Kuti when both were sidemen in the African nation’s jazz circuit; by mid-decade, Allen served as drummer in Kuti’s “Koola Lobitos” jazz band, which later morphed into Africa 70.
As a member of Africa 70, Allen appeared on classic Kuti albums like 1973’s Gentleman, 1975’s Expensive Shit and the Afrobeat legend’s most enduring work, 1976’s Zombie. Each release featured Allen’s innovative, hypnotic polyrhythmic grooves. “Without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat,” Kuti once said.
In addition to his solo work, Allen was known for his collaborations with Damon Albarn: Allen was a member of The Good, The Bad and the Queen alongside Albarn and the Clash’s Paul Simonon and the Verve’s Simon Tong, with that band releasing a pair of albums, a self-titled 2007 LP and 2018’s Merrie Land. Allen, Albarn and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea — under the moniker Rocket Juice & The Moon — also released a collaborative album in 2012.
In recent years, Allen reconnected with his jazz roots, recording a tribute EP for his “hero” Art Blakey and teaming up with Jeff Mills for 2018’s Tomorrow Comes the Harvest. Earlier this year, Allen released Rejoice, a collaboration with late South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela.
“Some drummers don’t know what it means to play soft, it’s not in their book,” Allen told The Guardian in 2016. “I know I can make my drums bring the house down if I have to. But I know how to make it subtle. You listen to it flowing like a river.”
This is a developing story