African Music

[paul secor]

Just wanted to make mention of Master Musicians of Tanzania. I have two LPs - Tanzania Yetu and Mateso - plus a CD - Mateso - which combines the second LP with some of the first LP. Hukwe Zawose seems to be the leader, since he's the only common denominator on the recordings.

I have no idea whether the musicians are still active or, for that matter, whether the record label - Triple Earth - still exists.

I do know that the music on the recordings is wonderful. I hope that it's available somewhere, or if not, that it will become available once again.

MG probably knows something about all of this.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Just wanted to make mention of Master Musicians of Tanzania. I have two LPs - Tanzania Yetu and Mateso - plus a CD - Mateso - which combines the second LP with some of the first LP. Hukwe Zawose seems to be the leader, since he's the only common denominator on the recordings.

I have no idea whether the musicians are still active or, for that matter, whether the record label - Triple Earth - still exists.

I do know that the music on the recordings is wonderful. I hope that it's available somewhere, or if not, that it will become available once again.

MG probably knows something about all of this.

Actually, no. I tend to focus on West Africa and a bit on southern Africa. Africa's so big and varied you know...

MG

[paul secor]

Just wanted to make mention of Master Musicians of Tanzania. I have two LPs - Tanzania Yetu and Mateso - plus a CD - Mateso - which combines the second LP with some of the first LP. Hukwe Zawose seems to be the leader, since he's the only common denominator on the recordings.

I have no idea whether the musicians are still active or, for that matter, whether the record label - Triple Earth - still exists.

I do know that the music on the recordings is wonderful. I hope that it's available somewhere, or if not, that it will become available once again.

MG probably knows something about all of this.

Actually, no. I tend to focus on West Africa and a bit on southern Africa. Africa's so big and varied you know...

MG

I'm (almost) shocked.

[seeline]

I think that Triple Earth died long ago, but I could be wrong.... I used to have some LPs they'd put out in the late 80s.

[jimi089]

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.

I found out that the Victor Deme album is digital only, no pressings of it happening anywhere, so I bought the MP3s from Amazon. The album excellent - he has a well worn voice with beautiful tone and vibrato, and the songwriting and musicianship is top notch throughout. Highly recommended.

The Etran Finatawa album has held up well since I got it. I don't think it conveys the vibrancy of the live concert I saw, but it is still an excellent recording.

[jazzypaul]

Has anyone heard this?

Somebody sent me this months ago, and I just put it in the CD player again this past weekend. It's sooo good. That and the album by Vieux Farka Toure have been in heavy rotation for the past week. Great stuff.

[riverrat]

The Hank Jones is fantastic. Simply one of the best cds I have heard in any genre.

I would have to agree. This one has been in heavy rotation here since it arrived a few days ago.

[Stefan Wood]

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

Dusty Groove now had this set. I'm nabbing it! Anyone else with a love or interest in not only African but Cuban music as well should grab this.

[paul secor]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/arts/mus...erns&st=nyt

Not an in depth article - but interesting. Besides Rochereau, the article says something about the state of a small label in today's music business.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/arts/mus...erns&st=nyt

Not an in depth article - but interesting. Besides Rochereau, the article says something about the state of a small label in today's music business.

Yes - interesting article, thanks Paul.

Six thousand to break even doesn't seem like a lot, worldwide. I imagine the Balla & Balladins 2CD set Sterns have just issued is similar.

MG

[Stefan Wood]

Received the Balla 2 disc set today from da bastids. This is great, great music!!!!!!!!!!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Still waiting for mine from Amazon UK. (Grrrrr)

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Here's a wonderful video of Les Amazones de Guinee

MG

[Stefan Wood]

:tup

[paul secor]

Here's a wonderful video of Les Amazones de Guinee

MG

Thanks for posting that one, MG!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

:tup

Looks like something recorded by Decca West Africa in the sixties. Is it?

MG

[Stefan Wood]

:tup

Looks like something recorded by Decca West Africa in the sixties. Is it?

MG

No, this is 70's material.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

:tup

Looks like something recorded by Decca West Africa in the sixties. Is it?

MG

No, this is 70's material.

Do I get half a point for Decca West Africa?

MG

[seeline]

MG, your fashion sense is off - those are most definitely a variation on the leisure suit. [said with a nod and a wink]

[Stefan Wood]

No, I don't believe they were on Decca. I'll have to recheck the notes.

[seeline]

I might have posted about this before (I didn't double-check), but it deserves some PR regardless:

Likembe

Wonderful blog specializing in rare/o.p. African releases, mostly vinyl. The links on this site will get you to some great podcasts - and online music stores that specialize in imports from various parts of Africa.

Enjoy!

[jostber]

I might have posted about this before (I didn't double-check), but it deserves some PR regardless:

Likembe

Wonderful blog specializing in rare/o.p. African releases, mostly vinyl. The links on this site will get you to some great podcasts - and online music stores that specialize in imports from various parts of Africa.

Enjoy!

That's a great one, thanks! Do you have a link to a latin one too?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Well, what a surprise!

Two CDs arrived today by Les Espoirs de Coronthie, a Guinean band. I saw them in Paris in May 2007 and thought they were very good indeed. So I asked their tour manager if they had made any records. He said they had, but not released on CD; but that it was planned to release one soon. so I asked if I could pay for it then and get the CD by post.

Well, I gave up and wrote off the 20 Euros to experience.

And, out of the blue, two turn up!!!!!!

"Dunuya iguiri" is the earliest. It was recorded in Conakry in May & June 2003 and, since it's 78 mins long, must have originally been issued as two cassettes.

The latest, "Tinkhinyi" was recorded in Bamako & Paris in Sep & Dec 2007.

The noteworthy thing about this band is that it is all accoustic. I don't remember the guitarist having an amp. They just PLAY LOUD!!!! And sing loud! Yes, they used mikes and the guitarist, as I recollect, had a mike close to his instrument.

The first half of the earlier CD is different to the second. To me, it's most interesting because, although most of the musicians are Mandinke, in this first cassette, they get away from the normal djeli-controlled Mandinke style of music, well known from Syliphone Records and Bembeya Jazz National, to the style of the Mandinke hunting music, of which I've only heard a little. This is a strange thing for a band coming from the poorest quarter of Conakry to do, but it's damn good. The second half of that CD has melodies that flow much more in the traditional djeli manner, though the backing is still from the Mandinke hunting tradition. I find this music very, very exciting. You can buy downloads of this album here:

http://www.virginmega.fr/musique/album/les...99395,page1.htm

The recent album is more like the first half of the earlier album - much more related to hunting music, though the presence of Pierre Lebourgeois on cello on track one starts it off in a rather different manner. But it soon settles down into the normal Espoirs de Coronthie style. But there are a few djeliya styled numbers. I think you must be able to get downloads of this one, too. But a search at the Virgin France site only revealed the earlier one.

The band's website is here

http://www.lesespoirsdecoronthie.com/

I'm going to be playing these albums a LOT!

MG

[seeline]

Thanks so much for posting all this info., MG - these CDs look good!

BTW, there's a recording of a hunters' festival (recorded in Mali) available at the link. No doubt it's a bit rough, but still, if you like the sound...

Edited November 16, 2008 by seeline

[jostber]

This thread is a great inspiration, am really grooving to this record these days:

Where should I go next for essential ethiopian music? Any recommendations from this list?

http://www.honestjons.com/shop.php?HybridSearch=ethiop