The Whole Music Experience

World   Debademba Souleymane   World Village Some of the first world music I heard was from West Africa.   I started out with Senegalese music then discovered Malian music and West African music found a place in my life.   With so many musical styles hailing from West Africa, sometimes bands come along that mix and match while causes us to dance our feet off.   Debademba (led by guitarist Abdoulaye Traoré of Ghana and Malian griot vocalist Mohamed Diaby) performs High Life (Ghana), mbalax (Senegal), Afro-Beat (Nigeria) and griot blues (Mali) on their second album, Souleymane . These musicians supply us with ample infectious rhythms played on calabashes and other percussion, shimmering kora, acoustic guitar, soaring vocals, as well as, violin, cello, flute, piano and chorus (women and men vocals).   I dare you not to dance. Okay, so it’s not all fast grooves and primal beats.   Djiki snakes along to Arabic modes with vocals so s...

World/Mali   Vieux Farka Toure Mon Pays   Six Degrees Records   Mali faces more trouble with Islamic fundamentalists warring against Tuareg nomads in the north part of the country and music was banned.   Anyone who enjoys Malian music has most likely heard of this sad news, yet the music keeps coming, showing us a face of hope, defiance and peace, at least in the hearts of the Malian people. Vieux Farka Toure, the son of the late Malian guitar legend, Ali Farka Toure records his best album thus far, Mon Pays which speaks of anguish for his fellow Malians and also possesses a healing force not found anywhere but in music.   Mostly an acoustic album with blues guitar, the traditional kora (West African harp), ngoni, and calabashes, you will also hear piano on the final track Ay Bakoy , played by Israeli Idan Raichel, a friend and musical collaborator of Vieux. These aren’t the only instruments you will hear on this tapestry of African, Mi...

World / Jazz Ablaye Cissoko/Volker Goetze Amanké Dionti Motema (2012) The world music duo Ablaye Cissoko, a griot kora player from Senegal and Volker Goetze, a trumpeter originally from Germany returned with another masterful recording, Amanké Dionti .   After the duo’s critically-acclaimed Sira (2008), which married a trumpet’s clear tones with the delicacy of a kora (West African harp) and Cissoko’s Senegalese vocals, transformed both world music and jazz.   Not long after, Sira came into the world, another Euro-African duo, Vincent Segal (France) and Ballaké Sissoko (Mali) wed cello with the kora (this duo has an album out in February 2013). When I listen to Amanké Dionti I wonder what Miles Davis or John Coltrane would have thought of the musical marriage.   The recording fits easily and comfortably into jazz and world music.   I would even squeeze it into world classical and if a new ager didn’t reflect on the socio-political messages ...

Irène and Francis Jacob Je Sais Nager (I know how to swim) Sunnyside Communications/Universal France Brazilian bossa nova diva Astrud Gilberto and French actress Brigitte Bardot, though from two parts of the world, shared soft understated vocals in common.   In mainly the realm of Parisian actresses, breathy vocals were transformed into a vocal pop art.   Even the English alternative pop band Stereolab made this music hip back in the 1990s, then dubbed as French lounge music.   The days of Edith Piaf belting out torch songs had ended, replaced by film stars turned singer-songwriter.   French actress Irène Jacob ( Trois Coleurs Rouge and Double Life of Veronique ) has joined the French pop music tradition while joining forces with her musician brother Francis Jacob on Je Sais Nager . This world pop album combines suave bossa nova with North and West African flavors, while never allowing listeners to forget the French origins of the songs. ...

Sibiri Samakè Bamana Hunter Music Dambe Foli System Krush Every traditional culture has its healing plants, magic, and sacred music.   The Donso (hunter) of Mali is no exception.    Finding roots in the ancient Mande Kingdom of West Africa, the Donso once were in service to the Great Mande King Sunjata Keita, who you hear about a lot in the traditional music and history of Mali. The Donso served as soldiers for the king, along with providing spiritual healing and nourishment to their communities. True the traditional songs, sung in their original language, that appear on Dambe Foli possess a trance and ritualistic aura. While the liner notes supply me with information about each of the song-sets, I can barely read the font in which the information appears.   From what I can glean the album contains praise songs (not uncommon with traditional Malian music), protection spells, and ceremonial songs.   The Donso n’goni (not to be conf...

Mamadou Diabate Courage World Village The old year has barely turned over and already the stunning fifth recording, Courage by Malian kora master Mamadou Diabate, arrived on the scene. Following his Grammy Award winning Douga Mansa (2009), the new recording leans towards a fuller more contemporary sound. The kora pairs up with ngoni (Malian banjo), balaphone, calabash and djembe. The playing here is fiery one minute with rapid notes of the kora glimmering over the top of the other instruments, and ethereal on some tracks. Yet, even those ethereal moments find themselves locked in a West African groove.  A West African griot, Diabate walks the talk, and though the songs are instrumental, the musician punctuates his liner notes with morality lessons and tributes. On the track Bogna , Diabate offers these wise words about music in general, “Respect is the healing medicine of peace. Peace is the healing medicine of love. Love is the healing medicine of life. Life is the h...

Ballakè Sissoko Vincent Segal Chamber Music Six Degrees Records When we think of the cello, we hear a somber, melancholic sound, mostly attached to European classical music. And when we hear the shimmering sound of a West African kora, the mood that arrives, (though no less sedate than the mood of a cello), feels spiritually uplifting. So pairing these two instruments might seem awkward at first. That is until you hear the beautiful marriage of tones and timbre. While I’m not sure that I would call Ballakè Sissoko (kora) and Vincent Segal (cello) album Chamber Music groundbreaking, certainly it represents one of the most spellbinding albums to come along. The moods of the cello and kora appear to balance each other out, leaving listeners somewhere between melancholy and relaxation. I find this music healing, even powerfully so. Personally, I find Chamber Music deeply relaxing, so relaxing in fact, that I want to crawl back in bed and absorb its warm tones, rather than ty...

Salif Keita La diffèrence Decca/emarcy Imagine coming from a long lineage of West African aristocracy, but experiencing ostracism from parents, the community, teachers, and aristocracy. Imagine your father disowning you because you are different. And imagine if you had a musical talent handed down to you through your lineage that you are forbidden to express because of you are different, and then you would come close to describing Malian griot musician Salif Keita’s life story. Keita was born to 2 black Malian parents, but is white because Keita was born albino. Albinism is seen as an omen by Malians and albinos experience their share of prejudice and injustice based on the lack of pigmentation in their skin. While albinism caused Keita to suffer through his childhood and beyond, his determination and passion for music lead him to a successful music career (which he pursued outside of Mali) and his pursuit of justice for albinos (so that they can acquire education and h...

The Return of Lo'Jo: Conversation with Denis Pèan Lojo, World Village Writing about the French globetrotting troubadours Lo’Jo requires some effort, as any music journalist familiar with the sextet will attest. A dictionary is required along with a sense of childhood whimsy. All preconceived concepts of world music must be tossed out so that an emphasis on “playing” music comes through loud and clear. When it comes to describing Lo’Jo to my friends and colleagues, not to mention readers of my articles, I’ve been stumbling over words since 1998 when I first caught these musicians on a small indoor stage at WOMAD USA. I wasn’t into world music yet nor did I have any idea that over a decade later I would blog about the healing power of music. Lo’Jo’s enchanting music elegantly brought many cultures onto a single stage, thus proving that we could all get along if we spoke the universal language. I woke me up from a collective trance. And since 1998 and 2001, (the 2nd appear...

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba Speak Fula Next Ambiance/Subpop I love griot music of Mali—the kora, n’goni (West African banjo), calabashes, and soaring vocals. You might have already read numerous reviews on The Whole Music Experience featuring Malian music and no doubt, you’ll read more in the future. I was listening to NPR’s “All Things Considered” one evening and heard a segment on the n’goni player and rising music star, Bassekou Kouyate. I stopped whatever I was doing at the time, sat down and listened to the stunning music rising from my portable stereo. The piece that I heard possessed ambient qualities with Malian female vocals surfing over the top of jagged rhythms and traditional instruments. The vocalist, Amy Sacko that captured my attention is Kouyate's wife. But she’s only one of many stars on this album which also features the son of Ali Farka Toure (Vieux Farka Toure), a singer with a golden throat, Kasse Mady Diabate, kora master Toumani Diabate, and ...

Oran Etkin Kelenia Motema Music I have been fortunate. I have received many recordings fusing traditional West African music, mainly from Mali, with American blues, jazz and now the swirling sounds of Jewish clarinet. Israeli reedman Oran Etkin (clarinet, bass clarinet & tenor sax), teamed up with Balla Kouyate (balafon), Makane Kouyate (calabash & vocals) and Joe Sanders (bass). An array of guest musicians also bring in cello, violin, guitar, djembe and bass. The end result is Kelenia -- a multicultural jazz stew with a warming effect. Etkin cites in the liner notes, "The music you hear was not created in a studio--it developed over the course of a decade as I was working with various African musicians in the US and Mali and then through the years of performances and rehearsals with wonderful musicians on this record." And sure enough this seamless fusion feels completely natural to my ears. The opener, Yekeke bubbles like champagne with its efferv...

Cheick Hamala Diabate Ake Doni Doni (Take it Slow) Grigri Discs I imagine that we Americans need a West African griot and n’goni player advising our government representatives. Malian n’goni player and musical diplomat has exchanged culture and I hope humanitarian ethics with members of the U.S. Congress and “hobnobbed with American string and blues legend Bela Fleck to Corey Harris…” According to the press release, “As the resident griot of DC, Diabate happily take on a very traditional role of in his adopted home where he has lived since 1995. He still earns his living the old fashion way—praising notables and legitimizing leaders and garnering generous rewards for his songs.” However, the songs on Ake Doni Doni also teach politicians, the media and other Washington DC dwellers how to be better parents, better leaders and to heal themselves of a “grab fast” mentality which Diabate addresses in the titular song. Take a listen to Astou Diabate’s fiery vocals on Oude Diall...