Tonight is the master of soukous, Congo’s legendary Kanda Bongo Man as loved by John Peel. This guy is the master of the joyful, mesmerising, hip-shaking groove has seen him play stadium sized parties including the very first WOMAD in 1982 and he was terrific at Bestival a while back.

And for the after party, it’s the Big Chill’s Guy Morley (Yam Yam, One Tree Island) will be spinning the tunes; and what with seeing Glyn Bush last night with his Magic Drum Orchestra live, it reminds me of the good old days of the Equator Sound System with the pair of them as DJ Yam and BiggaBush.

Not only that, some of the acts to come are just the type of music we like to cover on FLY, especially Azymuth, Jose James, The Sunburst Band (tomorrow), Kaidi Tatham, Jazzanova and Breakestra (supporting their fantastic new album Dusk Til Dawn that’s just out) and even veterans from the past like Martin Carthy.

With quality of line-up, you won’ be surprised to hear that Mike Chadwick (most known for his radio shows on Jazz FM and compiler of quite a few quality compilations) is programming the entertainment or that local lad Mr. Scruff is a big supporter. It all seems to suit this historic venue that not only can boast hosting the likes of Bjork, Art Blakey, John Martyn before it closed in 2005 but also pre-Factory punk heroes of Manchester (The Buzzcocks, The Fall, Joy Division et al) in the 70s. Or even the or that the venue’s rather odd name is taken from the fact that in the 1930s, a small stage was erected high on the wall for visiting musicians to play on.

With dub master Mad Professor, Yellowman and Bassekou Kouyate all booked, if you’re in Manchester, the Band On The Wall is top of places to go and visit.

Photo of Jazz Dancers in the 1980s - spot the BGP Records logo at the back - so did it get a mention in Mark ‘Snowboy’ Cotgrove’s book From Jazz Funk & Fusion to Acid Jazz: The History Of The UK Jazz Dance Scene?

Links:
Kanda Bongo Man, Tickets £14.50 / £11.60 Members
Nick Beddow 11pm to 3am Tickets: £6 (Free with Kanda Bongo Man)
Friday 2 October 2009 at 8:00pm Band On The Wall, Swan Street, Manchester M4 5JZ Tel: 0845 3 500 500 www.bandonthewall.org