the End is Now Special Party

So it's the end of the world today,I was told some days ago
-a really hilarious idea of the new age merchants !
I'll relax and anticipate for the spectacle as I have nothing  to loose....
for the occasion  at home we are having  a  party with music,food and dance  and at the end of the day , family and  friends  we'll  say  goodbye,it was nice as long as it lasted we love each other  and we have already arranged  a meeting  for tomorrow in the next dimension.
seriously now if not today surely soon there won't be any future for the human race  if we  remain so blind and greedy and don't realize that  living on this magic planet  is a right and a privilege, where every life is precious and all built  on that.
till tomorrow comes,a small  collection of righteous reggae and gospel sounds mostly,for your end of the world party.play it loud and heads up.

Babylon  you are over

for eternity's records:

01-Shalom Youth choir - Countdown
02-Willie Williams-Armagedeon Time
03-Skanky ft. Simplefx-La planète
04- Earl Sixteen-Babylon Walls
05-Bessie Griffin & The Caravans - Let Us Run
06-Soweto Soul Gospel Singers-Nantsi Ngola
07-U-Roy - Babylon burning
08-Anzala, Dolor & Vélo - Ti fi la ou té madam
09-Culture-Revelation Time
10-12 Apostles Church Choir- Izindaba
11-Sizzla-Babylon homework
12-Black label band - Sura mbaya
13-Zojojo I Su Grupo di Tambu- Salvador del munde
14-Yasus Afari-pands of Babylon
15-Daara J.- Babylone
16-Amadodana Ase Wesile - Zingandidakumbisa Na
17-Spiritual Singers Ntsamina-Wey a tsumo ma
18- Marion Williams & The Stars of Faith - When I Lay This Body Down
19-Orchestra Marrabenta Star de Moçambique ft. Mingas- Elisa Gomara Saia
20-Wagëblë-Babylon
21-Rafik Ganja-Babylone 2

Mandekalou

on the image 

Ensemble Gabusi des iles-Les Comores

gabusi from the archives

*****

or

(*

a very brief  story
of a travelling instrument 

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 

Ibrahima Sarr et Danaya

latest obsession (and what else are blogs about,other than our obsessions?)
djembe master Ibrahima Sarr and the amazing Danaya company of singers ,dancers  & percussionists:

about
Ibrahima Sarr 

Ibrahima SARR - Djembé solo, direction
Adama COULIBALY - Chant et donso ngoni
Fatime DIABATE - Chant et danse
Seïba SISSOKO - Djeli ngoni
Moussa DIABATE - Bala
Fassara SACKO dit "Niangri" - Chant et doundoun solo
Gaoussou KOUYATÉ dit "Garçon" - Djembé solo et accompagnement
Ismaïla KOUYATÉ dit "Kenieba” - Djembé, doundoun solo et accompagnement
Brahima Coulibaly - Danse et konkoni

listen

why  I'm  so in love with Fassara Sacko's voice ?

listen to him in the wonderful Nia nia O .

the short film port 386 from Olivier Conrardy about the Danaya company can be viewed here  do your self this favor and don't miss it .

Hamza el Din-Al Oud-Instrumental & Vocal Music of Nubia

> The oud in pictures and words

this is a treasure
I share it with anyone interested
I presume you won't need any introduction to Hamza el Din's (magic) music
just in case


Al Oud

> bonus track Saquit Darius

 my thanks to kokolo


.

Rakoto Frah - Flute Master of Madagascar

The music that Rakoto Frah plays is based in the Merina traditions of the Central Highlands of Madagascar, and in particular two distinct styles; one deriving from the famadihana ('turning the dead') exhumation and reburial ceremonies, and the other from hiragasy(hira = song, gasy = of Madagascar), a theatrical performance by troupes of players, featuring song, music, dance, proverbs, morality tales and so forth.
Famadihana ceremonies feature troupes of sodina and amponga (a European-derived military-style drum) players.
The events are rooted in the immense respect

which the Malagasy people show their ancestors,
manifesting in day or even week long celebrations of the dead.
Far from being sombre or macabre occasions, they are infused with joy and celebration, reflected in the wild, frenetic music that the musicians play for dancing (to please the dead).
The famadihana repertoire featured on this release is virtuosic, brash and energetic.
As this is music for the outdoors, the recording reflects the volume and tone of the instrumental line-up; key to the achieving the exhilarating, high-energy effect.
Ceremonies are competitive; judged by the quantity of musicians in a troupe,
the prolific output of new tunes and the ability to keep the atmosphere going full pelt for the duration.
The events in which this master plays can feature up to 20 flute-players and drummers
and Rakoto Frah had apparently created nearly 800 pieces at the time of this recording!
Here, however, there are just three sodina players: bright-toned and breathy.

Traditionally the flutes, with six finger holes and a thumbhole, were made out of bamboo,but the flutes that Rakoto Frah makes for himself are made out of metal tubing
(ski poles are most favoured!) lending a certain harshness to the tone.
The hiragasy tradition is represented here by some distinctive, close harmony vocals
of Rakoto Frah's two young grand-daughters, singing songs on a variety of themes,
both serious (relira) and light-hearted (zanakira): from commentaries on behaviour to descriptions of places.
The singing is bold and attention-grabbing and again the tempo is upbeat.
The instrumental pieces are also descriptive, inspired by the environment or social concerns and so forth.As well as the vivacious sodina playing, the line-up features kabosy,
a small guitar-like instrument with four to six strings and partial frets,and the rhythm-marking ambio claves.

source

wikifra

rakoto fra 1000 

next, a nice old video with  Rakoto Fra as the guest of  Erick Manana