Geraldo Pino and the Heartbeats

Geraldo Pino & The Heartbeats were a great soul/funk/afrobeat band from Sierra Leone who were well known throughout west Africa in the 1960s. The liner notes to the album explain that Pino was an influence on Fela Kuti.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Geraldo Pino and his band the Heartbeats kickstarted the whole soul/funk/afrobeat scene in West Africa. Mixing highlife, funk and jazz, and using the latest equipment, they laid waste to all before them. Let’s Have A Party is Geraldo Pino’s masterpiece. It’s slick and heavy, tough and uncompromising, with musicianship that will blow your mind. -- The Heartbeats are exactly that, a tight and efficient engine that keeps the groove moving. More here: pmg-label.bandcamp.com

It’s no exaggeration to say that Geraldo Pino and his band the Heartbeats kickstarted the whole soul/funk/afrobeat scene in West Africa. Mixing highlife, funk and jazz, and using the latest equipment, they laid waste to all before them. Let’s Have A Party is Geraldo Pino’s masterpiece. It’s slick and heavy, tough and uncompromising, with musicianship that will blow your mind. -- The Heartbeats are exactly that, a tight and efficient engine that keeps the groove moving. More here: pmg-label.bandcamp.com

Geraldo Pino was a singer and guitarist from Sierra Leone (born in 1934 in Enugu, Nigeria / died of illness in 2008) who was one of the first artists to become successful while incorporating American funk into the growing West African Afrobeat scene of the mid to late '60s. To the sounds of the likes of James Brown, the Sierra Leonean Nigerian musician infused strong African percussive elements and the revolutionary stance that permeated throughout Africa at the time. Also characteristic of Geraldo Pino's music were the distinctively funky sounds of the Hammond B-3 organ. As Pino was selling out shows in Nigeria he made a huge impression on Fela Kuti. Kuti then followed suit and incorporated similar funky elements into his live shows and recordings. It is said that Kuti then moved to America in order to promote his music because he didn't believe he could compete with Pino's popularity in West Africa. The move proved beneficial for Kuti who immediately caught the ears of Western producers and audiences. Meanwhile, Pino and his influence on the development of Afrobeat remained relatively unknown outside Africa until recently. pmg-label.bandcamp.com www.discogs.com

It’s no exaggeration to say that Geraldo Pino and his band the Heartbeats kickstarted the whole soul/funk/afrobeat scene in West Africa. Mixing highlife, funk and jazz, and using the latest equipment, they laid waste to all before them. Let’s Have A Party is Geraldo Pino’s masterpiece. It’s slick and heavy, tough and uncompromising, with musicianship that will blow your mind. -- The Heartbeats are exactly that, a tight and efficient engine that keeps the groove moving. More here: pmg-label.bandcamp.com

Geraldo Pino was a singer and guitarist from Sierra Leone (born in 1934 in Enugu, Nigeria / died of illness in 2008) who was one of the first artists to become successful while incorporating American funk into the growing West African Afrobeat scene of the mid to late '60s. To the sounds of the likes of James Brown, the Sierra Leonean Nigerian musician infused strong African percussive elements and the revolutionary stance that permeated throughout Africa at the time. Also characteristic of Geraldo Pino's music were the distinctively funky sounds of the Hammond B-3 organ. As Pino was selling out shows in Nigeria he made a huge impression on Fela Kuti. Kuti then followed suit and incorporated similar funky elements into his live shows and recordings. It is said that Kuti then moved to America in order to promote his music because he didn't believe he could compete with Pino's popularity in West Africa. The move proved beneficial for Kuti who immediately caught the ears of Western producers and audiences. Meanwhile, Pino and his influence on the development of Afrobeat remained relatively unknown outside Africa until recently. pmg-label.bandcamp.com www.discogs.com

Geraldo Pino was a singer and guitarist from Sierra Leone (born in 1934 in Enugu, Nigeria / died of illness in 2008) who was one of the first artists to become successful while incorporating American funk into the growing West African Afrobeat scene of the mid to late '60s. To the sounds of the likes of James Brown, the Sierra Leonean Nigerian musician infused strong African percussive elements and the revolutionary stance that permeated throughout Africa at the time. Also characteristic of Geraldo Pino's music were the distinctively funky sounds of the Hammond B-3 organ. As Pino was selling out shows in Nigeria he made a huge impression on Fela Kuti. Kuti then followed suit and incorporated similar funky elements into his live shows and recordings. It is said that Kuti then moved to America in order to promote his music because he didn't believe he could compete with Pino's popularity in West Africa. The move proved beneficial for Kuti who immediately caught the ears of Western producers and audiences. Meanwhile, Pino and his influence on the development of Afrobeat remained relatively unknown outside Africa until recently. pmg-label.bandcamp.com www.discogs.com

It’s no exaggeration to say that Geraldo Pino and his band the Heartbeats kickstarted the whole soul/funk/afrobeat scene in West Africa. Mixing highlife, funk and jazz, and using the latest equipment, they laid waste to all before them. Let’s Have A Party is Geraldo Pino’s masterpiece. It’s slick and heavy, tough and uncompromising, with musicianship that will blow your mind. -- The Heartbeats are exactly that, a tight and efficient engine that keeps the groove moving. More here: pmg-label.bandcamp.com

It’s no exaggeration to say that Geraldo Pino and his band the Heartbeats kickstarted the whole soul/funk/afrobeat scene in West Africa. Mixing highlife, funk and jazz, and using the latest equipment, they laid waste to all before them. Produced by Odion Iruoje and engineered by Emmanual Odenusi, Let’s Have A Party is Geraldo Pino’s masterpiece. It’s slick and heavy, tough and uncompromising, with musicianship that will blow your mind. It’s all killer, no filler, with ‘Heavy Heavy Heavy’ and ‘Let Them Talk’ bonafide, nailed on funk classics. The Heartbeats are exactly that, a tight and efficient engine that keeps the groove moving. pmg-label.bandcamp.com

It’s no exaggeration to say that Geraldo Pino and his band the Heartbeats kickstarted the whole soul/funk/afrobeat scene in West Africa. Mixing highlife, funk and jazz, and using the latest equipment, they laid waste to all before them. In 1966 Fela Kuti was a jobbing musician, eeking out a living with highlife bands. When Gerlado Pino came to town, it changed his life. “Pino tore up the scene,” he recalls in an interview with Carlos Moore. Produced by Odion Iruoje and engineered by Emmanual Odenusi, Let’s Have A Party is Geraldo Pino’s masterpiece. It’s slick and heavy, tough and uncompromising, with musicianship that will blow your mind. It’s all killer, no filler, nailed on funk classics. The Heartbeats are exactly that, a tight and efficient engine that keeps the groove moving. pmg-label.bandcamp.com