Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Darkest Light: The Best Of . . . Remastered Edition

JAZZ FUNK

There’s nothing overtly African or rocky about Lafayette Afro Rock Band, an American funk outfit who relocated to Paris in the 1970s and acted as session band for Pierre ‘Berjot’ Jaubert, a one-time Motown artistic director. Their cult releases as LARB and Ice have long been popular sampling fodder for US hip hop artists and it is to this they owe their recognition today. Without an obvious vocalist in their midst the focus shifts to the rhythm and groove of what were hugely talented musicians, thus this re-released overview of the band’s output presents some winning, seminal cuts, if it does go on a bit.