London Is the Place for Me 5: Latin, Jazz, Calypso and Highlife from Young Black London

At last, fresh instalments in our acclaimed, much-loved series: open-hearted, bitter-sweet, mash-up postcards to the here and now, from young black London. As then, calypso carries the swing. There are three more Lord Kitchener songs - in consideration of his wife leaving him for a GI, cricket umpires and West Indian poultry - besides a hot mambo cash-in, cross-bred under his supervision, and an uproarious, teasing Ghanaian tribute to him in Fanti by London visitors The Quavers. Other calypsos range compellingly from the devaluation of the pound to the sexual allure of English women police. The Mighty Terror contributes the woe-begotten, cautionary tale of his beloved Patricia's change of heart: 'I cannot believe, not for one moment / She gone with Millicent... / You may think I am jocular / But this really happened in Manchester / I felt so ashamed, my friends laughed at me / I had to take a train for London city.' Ambrose Campbell is back, with three more shots of prodigal, limber, melancholic, visionary West African highlife; and Mona Baptiste, with some wonderful, soulful exotica. Also finally getting some dues, the path-breaking Latin-African-jazz experiments of Ghanaian drummer and percussionist Buddy Pipp, with spine-tingling playing by the great Jamaican saxophonist Joe Harriott. Proper Brit Pop.