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Hi all - I've not posted for a while but been lurking (in fact had to re-register as I'd lost my login details, emails had changed......you get the score).

Hoping I'd be able to rack the collective brains that is congaplace and ask this question - does anyone have any idea what Bill Summers' conga pattern on God Make Me Funky is? I've been trying to pick it apart for a while and am stumped, totally......... I'm going to be playing it with a band who won't really know if I have it spot on or not, but it would be nice to have it spot on....

Thanks in advance to you all

I am hearing the open tones in the same place i hit my tumba open tones when playing a calypso pattern, however it sounds like the performance on the recording I listened to is all done on one drum, and a high-pitched drum at that (possibly due to the laptop speakers that I listened with). The calypso I learned was a two drum pattern. Anyway to get a feel similar to the recording, I would be inclined to play out of a calypso pattern, probably using muff tones for everything except the two obvious open tones.

I dont know what version you have but the one I heard has no congas on it.....and the one im talking about is from 1975...or do u mean the version by Jamiroquai... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EVINDETVtc

It's jazz and funk. Come up with your own thing and everything will just fine. Maybe get yourself a weird funky hat to help get you in the mood.


Edited to add: Listening to the Headhunter's version takes me back to high school in the 70's There was a high school age band that really did a killer job of doing that times "Fusion" Jazz. And you just couldn't beat their name. Galactic Manifestations.

This version has a couple things going on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAfVsuVEYD0

After drum kit the first percussion I hear is like tamborim, bongo, bata or a high tuned bongo (macho) played with a stick.

After that I hear open tones on congas dispersed every few bars throughout the song but I can't make out a static pattern.
Perhaps a pattern is being played but the other conga sounds can't be heard.

Ok what Bill is using is an Okonkolo/or the Itotele bata drum just playing the cha cha side..on his lap with his congas intermittently into a tumbao then during the sax solo hes playing made up funky patterns..definitely a Bata drum in the head of the tune then at the end on congas going out during the chorus......Jc

JohnnyConga wrote:Ok what Bill is using is an Okonkolo/or the Itotele bata drum just playing the cha cha side..on his lap with his congas intermittently into a tumbao then during the sax solo hes playing made up funky patterns..definitely a Bata drum in the head of the tune then at the end on congas going out during the chorus......Jc

The slap on the bata sounds like the iya part from iyesa ( obviously not played on an iya ) . Funky tune by the way

In the music like this you gotta appreciate the groovemakers, I specialy like the bass guitar... MMMmmm...

niallgregory wrote:

JohnnyConga wrote:Ok what Bill is using is an Okonkolo/or the Itotele bata drum just playing the cha cha side..on his lap with his congas intermittently into a tumbao then during the sax solo hes playing made up funky patterns..definitely a Bata drum in the head of the tune then at the end on congas going out during the chorus......Jc

The slap on the bata sounds like the iya part from iyesa ( obviously not played on an iya ) . Funky tune by the way

I could easily hear some go-go played over-top of that tune.