Music

Long gone are the days when it was perceived that African music started with Peter Gabriel and ended at Paul Simon. The next month sees everyone from Afrobeat aristocrat Femi Kuti to high-life crooner Daddy Lumba and Malian ngoni virtuoso Bassekou Kouyate perform at events such as Africa Rising at the Royal Albert Hall, the London Jazz Festival and Ramadan Nights. There’s even a two-day festival of Moroccan music at Darbucka World Music Bar, which ends on Thursday with Maghrebi traditional dance group, Gnawa UK.

In spite of drastic cutbacks (this year’s event is three days compared to last year’s 15) the London African Music Festival is still the oga pata pata as far as African music in this city goes. Now in its sixth year, it not only features Joyful Noise regulars such as the superb South African Gospel Choir (Purcell Room, Sat) and soukous legend Kanda Bongo Man (QEH, Sun), but also new talent in the shape of Madagascan folk guitarist Modeste Hugues (Purcell Room, Sat) and young Nigerian singer Chidinma Okafor (Purcell Room, Sun).

For the first time, the LAMF will also include artists from the diaspora, which means the grandaddy of dub, Mad Professor (QEH, Fri), will take to the stage, followed by an excellent free-jazz hoedown with trumpeter Claude Deppa (QEH, Sun) and his esteemed ensemble of horn-toting friends, including Byron Wallen and Jason Yarde. There isn’t much space to dance in the QEH, but with this line-up you won’t be sitting down for long.