Momo Wandel Soumah-Momo le Doyen....original soundtracks

"I wanted to have jazz in my sound, but to associate it with folklore. Because I could hear something of jazz in my musical territory here. Every time I heard a jazz record, I thought that's a rhythm from here. There is the tam tam, the gingou, the little doun-doun.The heart of jazz is found in Guinea, I can only express what I feel in jazz. the source of jazz is here." 
Momo Wandel Soumah

Momo "Wandel" Soumah, alto saxophonist, singer ,composer: born 1926; twice married (10 children)
a true innovator and a living bridge between Africa and Jazz . Member of  Syli Orchestre National  during the first years after Independence:"We were pushed to return to our source, our own folklore. So we would go to the villages, drill and dig deeply in the soil of our home towns and we found gold - beautiful songs that we would arrange and introduce to our orchestras."
Writing and singing in both Susu and Baga - with a vocal style reminiscent of Louis Armstrong - his songs speak of life in the villages.With his Wandel sextet  fused  Jazz  and the roots musics of the Maninka, Fula, Susu and his own Baga people.
Wandel's saxophone (shades of Coltrane, Parker and Coleman) trades off seamlessly with Mamady Mansare's beautiful flute lines, Khali Camara's balaphon and the kora of Sekou Kouyate (the former bandleader for Miriam Makeba). Wandel sings "scat" and is matched note for note by Aboubacar "Fatouababou" Camara on djembe. These, as many of the other fine musicians are members of the National Djoliba Ballet, or the Percussionists of Guinea. Along with the remaining instrumentation - dunduns, krin, and bolon - the music itself is rooted in the flowing, trance-like traditional mode, occasionally departing to celebratory arrangements with strong western jazz sensibilities such as their reading of Afro Blue..
Momo "Wandel" Soumah died in Conakry 16 June 2003

a posthumous release of Momo Wandel Soumah's soundtracks  for the films/documentaries,Circus Baobab,L'enfant noir,Ouatara,Momo le doyen & Voyage au pays.

If I write essential I'm afraid  that I'll
underestimate  the beauty of these recordings...

many of the much loved musics of Momo Wandel Soumah can be found here....

Momo le doyen

participating musicians:

1-Circus Baobab: Le blues du chef de village

Momo Wandel Soumah- vocals,saxophone

Khali Camara - balafon

Kelontan Cissoko  - kora

Laye Camara  - flute

Amadou Camara  - bolon

Alassane Camara  - djembe

Antony Bangoura  - congoma

2-Voyage au pays :Itinerance 

Fanta Camara  - vocals

Sori Dibate- balafon

Sekou Kouyate - kora

Kouyate, Abdulaye - guitar

Laye Camara- flute

Alassane Camara - djembe

Antony Bangoura  - congoma

3 -Circus Baobab: Signoya live 

Momo Wandel Soumah - vocals

Khali Camara - balafon

Kelontan Cissoko - kora

Laye Camara - flute

Alassane Camara- djembe

4-Aoutara: Balade Baga 

Khali Camara- balafon

Camara, Agathe - vocals

Mamady Mansare - flute

Fatou Abou Camara - djembe

Baga Guine - Ensemble

5-L'Enfant Noir: Generique fin 

Khali Camara - balafon

Mamady Mansare- flute

Fatou Abou Camara - djembe

6-L'Enfant Noir: Afro Blue 

Khali Camara - balafon

Mamady Mansare - flute

Fatou Abou Camara- djembe

7 - L'Enfant Noir: Errance a Conakry 

Khali Camara - balafon

Mamady Mansare - flute

Fatou Abou Camara- djembe

8-Felenko metis 

Momo Wandel Soumah - vocals

Sori Dibate - balafon

Sekou Kouyate- kora

Abdulaye Kouyate - guitar

Laurent Chevallier - guitar

Alassane Camara - djembe

Circus Baobab  Ensemble

9 -Elmo Mory Leo 

Sori Dibate- balafon

Sekou Kouyate - kora

Abdulaye Kouyate - guitar

Laurent Chevallier - guitar

Alassane Camara - djembe

Fanta Camara - vocals

Circus Baobab  Ensemble

10-Momo le Doyen: Dernier souffle wandelien 

Momo Wandel Soumah - saxophone

and 

you can watch,and watch again -the entire 97:21-Circus Baobab film of Laurent Chevallier right  here