African Music

[jimi089]

Thanks for the heads-up on this, plus the Toumani video!

My pleasure!

My two most recent purchases in the African music realm are:

Ngoma: The Early Years, 1948-1960

and

Roots of Rumba Rock: Congo Classics

Both of them related to my ongoing education in Congolese popular music. The former is just what the title says, a collection of songs from the Ngoma label in Congo, and the latter is a two disc collection of records released on the Loningisa label in the 50s. The music is similar stylistically on both collections, all coming from the same scene. I find the whole phenomenon of Caribbean musics, which were enormously influenced by African slaves in the Caribbean, being filtered back into Africa and becoming popular music there. It really brings into my mind so many issues of diaspora and cultural affinity. Great liner notes in both.

I'm working my way through the Rumba On The River book rather slowly, since listening to the music really makes the reading experience much richer and contextualized. I'm looking forward to finishing it though and collecting some more music along the way.

[seeline]

Those *are* great comps!

I was amazed to find out that there's actually a Brazilian presence in Nigerian music - there's a mention of it in Christopher Waterman's book Juju (and elsewhere, too, though I'm blanking right now...). apparently a bunch of ex-slaves from Brazil settled in Lagos, Nigeria in the 19th c., and they still have their own musical styles - unfortunately, you have to go there to hear them. Ditto for a bunch of former slaves who went from Brazil to Angola, and still (many, many generations on) identify themselves as "Brazilians." (I found out about this from a Brazilian friend who saw a documentary about these folks on a Brazilian TV station.)

There seems to be an ongoing back-and-forth (in the way of cultural influences) between Brazil and all of the former Portuguese African colonies - bandolim player Rodgrigo Lessa has spent over 10 years working on research, and has a new CD that's a collaboration between Brazilian and African musicians, Das Ilhas Mestiças.

here's his URL (site is in Portuguese): http://www.rodrigolessa.com.br/

He has some MP3s available on his site, and I think some of his music might be in the Amazon.com MP3 store.

[jostber]

Are there any opinions on these Nonesuch Explorers?

http://www.nonesuch.com/Hi_Band/region_africa.swf

[paul secor]

Are there any opinions on these Nonesuch Explorers?

http://www.nonesuch.com/Hi_Band/region_africa.swf

Bumped up, because I'm interested in this also.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Are there any opinions on these Nonesuch Explorers?

http://www.nonesuch.com/Hi_Band/region_africa.swf

Bumped up, because I'm interested in this also.

Pretty poxy site - won't let you listen unless you're a suit.

There's little doubt in my mind that this is all tremendously authentic stuff. If you want authentic traditional music from a bunch of places and cultures in Africa, looks to be the right thing. Not mine, however.

MG

[jimi089]

Those *are* great comps!

I was amazed to find out that there's actually a Brazilian presence in Nigerian music - there's a mention of it in Christopher Waterman's book Juju (and elsewhere, too, though I'm blanking right now...). apparently a bunch of ex-slaves from Brazil settled in Lagos, Nigeria in the 19th c., and they still have their own musical styles - unfortunately, you have to go there to hear them. Ditto for a bunch of former slaves who went from Brazil to Angola, and still (many, many generations on) identify themselves as "Brazilians." (I found out about this from a Brazilian friend who saw a documentary about these folks on a Brazilian TV station.)

There seems to be an ongoing back-and-forth (in the way of cultural influences) between Brazil and all of the former Portuguese African colonies - bandolim player Rodgrigo Lessa has spent over 10 years working on research, and has a new CD that's a collaboration between Brazilian and African musicians, Das Ilhas Mestiças.

here's his URL (site is in Portuguese): http://www.rodrigolessa.com.br/

He has some MP3s available on his site, and I think some of his music might be in the Amazon.com MP3 store.

Fascinating. If you've ever seen the David Byrne produced documentary Ile Aye about the Candomble in Brazil, there's this great image early on of Africa and South America as one continent, part of Pangea if you will, breaking apart and moving into separate continents. The implication of course is that they're inextricably linked, and he explores these connections in the film.

Has anyone heard Victor Deme? He's from Burkina Faso and apparently is releasing his first album after a long career as a local musician there - his MySpace page has some clips and it sounds great. Amazon is only carrying the MP3s right now but hopefully the disc will get distribution stateside so I can pick it up.

[riverrat]

Here's one I picked up off eBay recently that is pretty good:

Jean Emilien Hey Madagascar

[seeline]

Those *are* great comps!

I was amazed to find out that there's actually a Brazilian presence in Nigerian music - there's a mention of it in Christopher Waterman's book Juju (and elsewhere, too, though I'm blanking right now...). apparently a bunch of ex-slaves from Brazil settled in Lagos, Nigeria in the 19th c., and they still have their own musical styles - unfortunately, you have to go there to hear them. Ditto for a bunch of former slaves who went from Brazil to Angola, and still (many, many generations on) identify themselves as "Brazilians." (I found out about this from a Brazilian friend who saw a documentary about these folks on a Brazilian TV station.)

There seems to be an ongoing back-and-forth (in the way of cultural influences) between Brazil and all of the former Portuguese African colonies - bandolim player Rodgrigo Lessa has spent over 10 years working on research, and has a new CD that's a collaboration between Brazilian and African musicians, Das Ilhas Mestiças.

here's his URL (site is in Portuguese): http://www.rodrigolessa.com.br/

He has some MP3s available on his site, and I think some of his music might be in the Amazon.com MP3 store.

Fascinating. If you've ever seen the David Byrne produced documentary Ile Aye about the Candomble in Brazil, there's this great image early on of Africa and South America as one continent, part of Pangea if you will, breaking apart and moving into separate continents. The implication of course is that they're inextricably linked, and he explores these connections in the film.

Has anyone heard Victor Deme? He's from Burkina Faso and apparently is releasing his first album after a long career as a local musician there - his MySpace page has some clips and it sounds great. Amazon is only carrying the MP3s right now but hopefully the disc will get distribution stateside so I can pick it up.

Oh gads - I don't want to get started on David Byrne! I'll just say that I think some of his production efforts are very good (mostly the compilations he's done), but beyond that... there is a vanity press feel (to my mind, anyway) to a lot of his other projects. Example: he and Caetano Veloso "curated" a series of summer concerts in NYC a few years back. Cae was supposedly bringing the best new, younger artists from Brazil - and you know what? Everyone he presented was/is signed to the label he and his wife own (Natasha). The PR for that series was (I think) a great deal of bs.

I think I'd better stop now, especially because i haven't seen the film you mention and need to give it a shot, instead of acting like I'm somehow superior to Byrne. (Might make my ego feel better, but... it's not true! )

As for Victor Deme, I don't know his name - got any more thoughts/links? A *lot* of African musicians are showing up on MySpace, which is great! They'd probably never get exposure any other way, outside of their local area (for the most part).

Edited April 18, 2008 by seeline

[jimi089]

I hear you about Byrne. He definitely has his flaws, although for all its issues Luaka Bop still did some great things in exposing artists to US audiences. Check out the documentary though if you get a chance - it's very impressionistic and there's not much in the way of heavy handed narrating. The viewer is left to come to their own conclusions to a large extent. Lots of beautiful footage too.

I just found that Victor Deme through some other channels and liked what I heard. I'll probably pick up the album when I can get my hands on it.

[Chalupa]

Has anyone heard this one yet?? Judging from the 4 songs up on the my space page I have to buy it.

http://www.myspace.com/analogafrica

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Has anyone heard this one yet?? Judging from the 4 songs up on the my space page I have to buy it.

http://www.myspace.com/analogafrica

Ho yus! That looks GOOD, doesn't it? Thanks for posting this.

This lot turned up from South Africa today

Lulu Masilela - Super Jive hits - Soul Soul (material originally on Plastik, Star Black & Go Go labels)

This isn't jazz - it's pure Mbaqanga, but instrumental. Lulu is quite versatile - he plays organ, accordion, bass and alto sax.

Lulu Masilela & Thomas Phale - Cool down - Soul Soul

No image on web.

This is one of the jazz albums Lulu made following Abdullah Ibrahim's insulting remarks about Mbaqanga and his subsequent appropriation of Zacks Nkosi's "Mannenberg". Wish I could get the version the band made of "Mannenberg", which knocked Ibrahim's out of the charts, but I can't find it anywhere.

Zacks Nkosi - A tribute to Zacks Nkosi - Gallo

Zacks Nkosi - Our kind of jazz - Gallo

Zacks was one of the great jazzmen of South Africa - actually, one of the great jazzmen period - born in 1918, played in big bands in early forties. The tribute album is a 1975 rerecording of some of the jazz standards he'd written in the early days. There is stuff on these albums that just takes my breath away.

MG

[Chalupa]

OK I broke down and ordered African Scream Contest from DMG. They have the best price that I've found $15(+ $4 for S&H). That's $8 cheaper than I've been able to find it anywhere else.

[jimi089]

Last night I went to see Etran Finatawa at the Old Town School of Folk Music here in Chicago. Some info on them from their website:

Etran Finatawa was formed as a band at the time of the 2004 Festival in the Desert near Timbuctou. The literal meaning of their name is ‘the stars of tradition’. They are the first group to use the songs and music of the Wodaabe in a modern context. They began as a group of ten musicians who wanted to unite these two nomadic cultures as a symbol of peace and reconciliation. The touring and recording band consists of six players three of whom are Tuareg and three, Wodaabe-Fulani. In Niger the Wodaabe and the Tuareg live side by side on the desert’s fringes sharing pastures and water sources which sometimes leads to feuding. They work together to be strong and to give their culture a future in this changing world. The music of the two tribes is very different but the way it has been combined has produced a powerful and hypnotic sound and a new musical style of Nomad Blues.

The desert nomad blues style is definitely reminiscent of elements of Tinarewen's style, but it's definitely different. Very deep grooves and hypnotic melodies. They played two sets and both of them went by in the blink of an eye. I picked up their album:

I haven't listened to it yet but if it's anything like the live show it will be great. I'll report back after I've listened.

[seeline]

Sounds like a great show! but I do wish that promoters (etc.) would come up with something a bit better than "desert blues"... I say this because "[something] blues" seems to be a favorite designation here in the US, also the UK. The word gets slapped on just about anything - even European styles like fado.

Oh well. I guess there's nothing I can do about it, is there?!

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Has anyone heard this one yet?? Judging from the 4 songs up on the my space page I have to buy it.

http://www.myspace.com/analogafrica

this does sound very good! saw this on DGA but passed it by ... I've reconsidered!

more samples at their blog:

http://analogafrica.blogspot.com/2008/01/a...can-scream.html

edit:

looks like da bastids bounced the rate $7 bucks!!!

Edited May 1, 2008 by Man with the Golden Arm

[jimi089]

Sounds like a great show! but I do wish that promoters (etc.) would come up with something a bit better than "desert blues"... I say this because "[something] blues" seems to be a favorite designation here in the US, also the UK. The word gets slapped on just about anything - even European styles like fado.

Oh well. I guess there's nothing I can do about it, is there?!

Yeah, it's a weak designation. On one hand I understand the inclination to attach it to some genre that is known, but on the other hand it sells a lot of people short who are interested in the actual roots and history of the music.

[WD45]

Has anyone heard this one yet?? Judging from the 4 songs up on the my space page I have to buy it.

http://www.myspace.com/analogafrica

this does sound very good! saw this on DGA but passed it by ... I've reconsidered!

more samples at their blog:

http://analogafrica.blogspot.com/2008/01/a...can-scream.html

edit:

looks like da bastids bounced the rate $7 bucks!!!

There is a comment in that blog from the author stating that Stones Throw/Now Again will be handling the US distro of this with a release in late May. Cool!

[seeline]

Sounds like a great show! but I do wish that promoters (etc.) would come up with something a bit better than "desert blues"... I say this because "[something] blues" seems to be a favorite designation here in the US, also the UK. The word gets slapped on just about anything - even European styles like fado.

Oh well. I guess there's nothing I can do about it, is there?!

Yeah, it's a weak designation. On one hand I understand the inclination to attach it to some genre that is known, but on the other hand it sells a lot of people short who are interested in the actual roots and history of the music.

But y'know, if i were a promoter, I'd more than likely be very tempted to use it... because I do think it works as a draw. Back when I was writing reviews, I avoided this kind of phrase, but it does go down easier than a semi-scholarly explanation of Tuareg and/or Wodaabe music might. (Hee - I think I just proved my own point about awkward wording. )

Edited May 1, 2008 by seeline

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Sounds like a great show! but I do wish that promoters (etc.) would come up with something a bit better than "desert blues"... I say this because "[something] blues" seems to be a favorite designation here in the US, also the UK. The word gets slapped on just about anything - even European styles like fado.

Oh well. I guess there's nothing I can do about it, is there?!

Yeah, it's a weak designation. On one hand I understand the inclination to attach it to some genre that is known, but on the other hand it sells a lot of people short who are interested in the actual roots and history of the music.

But y'know, if i were a promoter, I'd more than likely be very tempted to use it... because I do think it works as a draw. Back when I was writing reviews, I avoided this kind of phrase, but it does go down easier than a semi-scholarly explanation of Tuareg and/or Wodaabe music might. (Hee - I think I just proved my own point about awkward wording. )

Depends on your audience, doesn't it? If you're writing (or were) for a publication that covers music from Africa or the whole world from a point of view of understanding what's going on, then the semi-scholarly explanation may be just what's wanted. But for the general reader, you've certainly got to try and convey something of what the music sounds like and, if it sounds like blues, why not say so? You don't have to say anything like "this is where the blues come from" or "this is blues", which I'm sure you wouldn't.

MG

[seeline]

Exactly - and unless you're writing for the ethnomus crowd, you really have to try and come up with ways to catch the readers' eye.

OTOH, the "blues" designation is slapped on all kinds of things that don't sound remotely like blues. In this case, I'd guess it came about mainly because some Tuareg groups (like Tinariwen) play electric guitars, though what they play on them is another thing altogether!

You don't have to say anything like "this is where the blues come from" or "this is blues", which I'm sure you wouldn't.

You're right in saying that I wouldn't, but some other writers are not so careful, or honestly don't know that the idea is questionable. There's a *lot* of confusion about this, as I'm sure you know.

Edited May 2, 2008 by seeline

[riverrat]

Last night I went to see Etran Finatawa at the Old Town School of Folk Music here in Chicago....I picked up their album:

...I'll report back after I've listened.

Please do report back! I see this is their second release.

[Stefan Wood]

Can't believe I missed these when they were first issued:

The Hank Jones is fantastic. Simply one of the best cds I have heard in any genre. I was in my Blue Note and Impulse! mode when this came out; that must be the only reason why I missed it the first time around.

Edited May 5, 2008 by Stefan Wood

[riverrat]

Can't believe I missed these when they were first issued...The Hank Jones is fantastic. Simply one of the best cds I have heard in any genre...

Keep the recommendations coming folks! Really appreciate the "heads ups" you all are providing for obscure stuff in some of my favorite genres that I would otherwise never find. I just ordered used copies of both of these for a total of less than $11 shipped.

FWIW, here's the AMG review of MandinGroove:

"Over the years, the musical exchanges between Africa and the West have been fascinating. African rhythms have had a direct or indirect impact on a variety of musical genres that started in the West -- everything from jazz, blues, R&B, and rap in the United States, to salsa, bachata-merengue, plena, samba, and cumbia in Latin America. And things came full circle when many of those western art forms influenced African pop in countries ranging from Ethiopia to Mozambique to Nigeria. The western influence is also quite strong in the Afro-pop of Mali, where Cheick-Tidiane Seck was born and raised. Recorded in 1999, 2002, and 2003 in three different cities (Paris, New York, and Los Angeles), MandinGroove thrives on the sort of east-meets-west energy that Manu Dibango, King Sunny Ade, Habib Koité, Mahmoud Ahmed, and the late Fela Kuti are all known for. Kuti, in fact, is among the many influences on this 76-minute CD, which combines African sensibilities with a healthy appreciation of soul, funk, jazz, and hip-hop.

But MandinGroove, Seck's first solo project, doesn't get into the really extended jams that Kuti often favored, and he has an appealing personality of his own. Although most of the lyrics are not in English, MandinGroove is full of American influences -- which can range from an Isley Brothers-minded guitar solo to an Earth, Wind & Fire-flavored horn arrangement to a Charles Earland-ish use of the Hammond B-3 organ (an instrument that Seck plays extensively on this release). Seck wears more than one hat on MandinGroove; in addition to singing lead and playing various instruments (keyboards, piano, and acoustic guitar on top of his B-3), he produced the disc and wrote most of the material. MandinGroove is not only an album of hypnotic, memorable grooves; it's also a demonstration of how enriching multiculturalism can be."

Edited May 5, 2008 by riverrat

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Got an e-mail from Sterns yesterday to say they has issued this (probably only in Britain, so far) on 5 May.

Balla & ses Balladins (formerly the Orchestre du Jardin de Guinee) were one of the best of the Mandinke big bands from Guinea - and one of the first to be recorded by Syliphone. This compilation is a great intro to their work, which is invariably great. I have most of disc 1 but only two tracks from disc 2, so I'll be getting this. It's a pity they've just taken a few tracks from the albums I have - I can't replace any of them with this coupling. One day, there'll be a market for Mosaic style complete boxed sets of these bands. But not yet, unfortunately.

Here's a link to Sterns' site

http://www.sternsmusic.com/disk_info.php?id=stcd3035-36

but you can probably get this from Amazon.uk (and set O up for commission).

MG

[Stefan Wood]

MG,

Thanks for the link. I just listened to the samples and this is essential! I'm always fascinated by the back and forth influences of Cuban and African music.