photo provided by Sherri Rase
TonyAllen ''SecretAgent'' CD cover
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Nothing says "Summer" to me like music from places where it's always Summer. Tony Allen's Afrobeat "Secret Agent" fits the bill to perfection. I love driving with the windows down, and playing a CD like this new release from Nonesuch Records' World Circuit, makes my usual route feel like an adventure, even if I'm on my way to work.

Tony Allen is a percussionist whose career spans decades. Allen was born in 1940 in Lagos, Nigeria, and his parents were Nigerian and Ghanaian, yet his influences were the early American jazz greats Art Blakey and Max Roach. His career as a professional musician began when he was only 20 years old and has been rocking the house ever since.

Allen has many accomplishments, including the creation of Afrobeat with Fela Anikulapo Kuti, yes, "that" Fela, whose life has been made into the amazing Broadway musical. While Kuti often is credited alone, Allen was his drummer during the formative years-1964 to 1980-and anyone who is in a band knows the critical role a drummer plays. The kudos must be shared.

Among African kit drummers, Allen is tops, but to get there, he had like, most young musicians, to convince his parents that his drumming was a career. In 1960, musicians were considered little better than beggars, says Allen, and he was an electrical technician. His mother was against it, but his father was an amateur musician himself, and swung the balance in Allen's favor.

The album features what Afrobeat music fans love. If you've never experienced it, it's like dancing to heartbeats in the dark. If you are a Reggae fan, you'll discover that this has a different drive, and you'll find yourself whistling and singing the basic lyric from the title song to "Ijo" to "Nina Lowo." Get this CD and you'll be buying copies for your summer-loving friends as well.