Abel Lima e Les Sofas cantam Nos Bida

Abel Lima from the island of Boa Vista,Cabo Verde,better known as  Don Abel was (and still is) an important and politically committed artist .for today,stories of immigration, exploitation and saudade in funk and coladeira from his first personal lp -mid 70's after his participation in  the PAIGC sponsored KaoGuiAMo group

read some more in muzzicaltrips

Nos Bida

Kakraba Lobi-Xylophone Player from Ghana

In Ghana, Kakraba Lobi is considered to be the gyil’s spokesperson by virtue of being one of the only living virtuosi to have mastered the vast and difficult repertoire, and possibly the only to have gained international acclaim as a concert soloist.
He was born in Kalba Saru in the Lobi and Birifor area of Nothern Ghana in 1939. His father is a farmer who is also highly skilled in the art of xylophone making and playing, like his father before him. His brothers, too, make and play drums and xylophones. As a child, Kakraba watched and listened intently, and thus became involved in the family tradition.

When he was old enough, Kakraba traveled south to the city of Accra where he was invited by many people to perform, and even played out on the streets, earning more than most people with office jobs. He gave broadcasts for Radio Ghana, and in 1957 he was invited to give a concert at the University of Ghana, Legon, where Professor J.H. Kwabena Nketia offered him a teaching post in the Institute of African Studies.
From 1962 until 1987, Kakraba was a full-time member of the staff at the Institute. In addition to his own Lobi and Birifor music, he has learned much of the music of the Ga, Ashanti and Dagati peoples. His repertoire and technique have been studied by ethnomusicologists from around the world.

According to qualified opinion, Kakraba is the finest xylophonist in his Ghana homeland, though he is too modest to claim such a title. His art is deeply rooted in tradition, and by virtue of his personality and extraordinary life circumstances, he has evolved into a world class solo performer.
Kakraba plays a xylophone, Kogili, with fourteen wooden keys. The Kogili has spiritual significance for the Lobi and the Birifor, who believe that it acquires part of the soul of its maker and owner, whose skills are in turn attributable to spirit origin. In order to preserve this spiritual element, various objects may be added to the instrument, such as porcupine quills, ancestral carved figures, crosses cut into the tips of the keys or brass tacks inserted into them.

from this site

Kakraba Lobi passed away  in July 2007

a homage and his funeral can be "viewed" right here:
http://lobimusic.org/

Xylophone player 

& more 

I walk alone

I walk alone

this is Marijata can be found in osibisaba * salut friend wherever you are 

* 

les Dieuf Dieul

*****

Dakar 2000

mbalax, jazz , rap and rock grooves 

under the production of David Murray 

more  & some more  to read 

3 years earlier, David Murray's Senegalese adventures started with 
Fo Deuk Revue

"Fo deuk" means "where do you come from" in Wolof. David Murray and friends have crafted a diverse, yet cohesive recording, hailing from a number of "places". Murray has been a professional saxophone player since the age of 14. He and his band (Jamaaladeen Tacuma - bass, Darryl Burgee - drums, and Robert Irving III - piano) traveled to Dakar, Senegal in May 1996 intent on creating a fusion with West African musicians. This recording documents the results of their musical encounters with some of Dakar's best known local bands; rappers Positive Black Soul, the Dieuf Dieul Band, singer Hamet Maal (Baaba Maal's brother) and sabar master Doudou N'Diaye Rose. The lyrics throughout carry a strong message about how Murray sees his world and himself "as a person of African descent relating to people who live in Africa and about the difficulty and problems which exist for Africans all over the planet".

David Murray - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet

Didier Awadi (Positive Black Soul) - rap

Amiri Baraka - poetry reading

Amiri Baraka Jr. - voice

Amadou Barry (Positive Black Soul) - rap and voice

Darryl Burgee - drums

Ousseynou Diop - drums

Assane Diop - guitar and xalam

Tidiane Gaye - voice

Craig Harris - trombone

Robert Irving III - piano

Hamet Maal - voice

Abdou Karim Mané - bass

Oumar Mboup - djembe and percussion

Hugh Ragin - trumpet

Doudou N'Diaye Rose - sabar and voice

El Hadji Gniancou Sembène - keyboard

Moussa Séné - background vocals and percussion

Junior Soul - voice

Jamaaladeen Tacuma - bass

*****

further

more wonders

 photo

more wonders from the Fulbe queen that stole our hearts


Ganda Fadiga with Inna Baba Koulibaly: Asigan da koye

Inna Baba Koulibaly: Barou djenga niadia

thanks   mela & ngoni

les soeurs diabaté-donkili diarabi

*

 it is impossible for the blog to sail without  the passion

of donkili diarabi

very (I mean Very) beautiful love songs from  beloved  Sona Diabaté and  her sister Sayon

(and both sisters of the more famous petit Sekou "Bembeya" "diamond fingers" etc..  )

and their soul sister Mama

with Lenké Condé on guitar , Adama Condé  on bala  and Tchemsé Kanté on the bolon.

if  love has a voice ...

then this is it

donkili

Fadouba Oularé

a great master of the djembe  from the rich,cultured  soil of Faranah/Guinea:  

Fadouba Oularé was the first Guinean djembefola to be recognized around the world.

Fadouba was born in 1936 in Sankaran at Koumandi Barnatou in the subprefecture of Bendou Cérékor,

40 km from Faranah. From an early age, his relatives went to consult a sorcerer,

who learned that Fadouba would be a great drummer who would travel around the world.

His father Youssouf Oulare was a drummer so Fadouba learned from him and accompanied him

at festivals. At the age of 15, Fadouba was the best drummer around and his reputation grew rapidly.....

Fadouba died on 26 January 2010. He was one of the grand masters in the true Malinke tradition of the djembe as well as the ballets. He had a virtuosity and a series of his own created strokes that added colour to his playing, yet his playing embodied the old world of djembe. His presence commanded respect and admiration. His loss was strongly felt but he left an indelible mark on his peers and on all his students and fans around the world.

from his portrait over at  djembefola.com

*****

a laser role for  Fadouba Oularé,but I urge you to watch  next video  anyway :

Antandroy

The Antandroy (or Tandroy) are a traditionally nomadic ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the arid southern part of the island around Ambovombe. Their name means "people of the thorns" in reference to the spiny thickets of endemic plants that characterize the southwestern region of Madagascar.

The origin of the Antandroy , as for most of the peoples of Madagascar, is unclear. 

Legend would have it that their great ancestor, Raminia, came from Arabia between the 5th and the 7th century, and indeed traits inherited from the Arabs can be found in Antandroy culture, such as astrological knowledge and techniques of prediction. However the region inhabited by the Antandroy  has, over the centuries, served as a shelter for other populations fleeing the innumerable migrations and invasions, and it is impossible to define an Antandroy ethnic “type”. Their culture, however, is very different to the others, because of their isolation. Hunters and breeders, the Antandroy  still  have a very simple lifestyle, never leaving their assagai or stick, which is the warrior’s emblem, and respecting the codes of a very strict society. Their celebrations in particular, with  music, dances and wrestling, are sacred and are guided by an original conception of the world: a whole universe still living and perfectly functional.

it is in this arid and thorny land  that  some of the most amazing musics on the planet are born!

trax
Gorodo (the accordion) Ivoseha Bernadette, Rasoanome Blandine, Zanamasinae Claudine, Mahasoa, Remanindry
Vontsarotse (a man's name) Ivoseha Bernadette, Soveninany, Rasoanome Blandine, Zanamasinae Claudine, Remanindry
Revoro (mister bird)Ivoseha Bernadette, Rasoanome Blandine, Zanamasinae Claudine, Mahasoa
Lomalilaly (how to coax back one's wife)Ivoseha Bernadette, Soveninany, Rasoanome Blandine, Zanamasinae Claudine, Remanindry
Retsivery (name of a famous man) Vorivoatsy, Mazoto, Sambiasy
Zahay Mangala-Bohinko Azy E Ia (we have rid him of his guilt) Ivoseha Bernadette, Soveninany, Rasoanome Blandine, Zanamasinae Claudine, Remanindry
Kidiboky Am-BavaVorivoatsy, Mazoto, Sambiasy
Andriamisara (name of a king) Marovany Box Zither, Mahasoa, Tindrianto
Kidiboky Vorisoatsy- Mazoto, Rimotsy, Sambiasy
Doany-Mahasoa, Sambiasy

Antandroy

Tinariwen-World on 3 session

fantastic mini session from Tinariwen
let's see if  this time will reach  more ears

just the tracks

Kanté Manfila-Tradition

Kanté Manfila was born in 1946 in Farabanah,his family moved to Kankan 80 km to the north where Kanté went to school up to the age of 14.
He then moved to Abijdan to live with an uncle since he could play already titles like tourbaka,kaira and kensa on balaphon and guitar,
he was able to earn some money by playing at marriages and other festivities of Guineans living in the capital of Ivory Coast.
He soon found a sponsor who liked the boy's playing so much that he payed him some studies at Abidjan's school of music.
the first band that featured Kante's guitar was "Independence jazz" ,then he joined "rhythm de I'bia".Soon he had his first single out"horoya" freedom
which was quite successful in Abidjan,so more singles followed.Kante's band in Abidjan "African style" didn't live long,because their ancient amplifiers broke down
so when his best friend had to return to Mopti for a family affair he joined him.In April 1970 Kante learned about the death of his father

and decided to return to Kankan.When he got to Bamako,friends warned him that he might be arrested if he crossed the Guinean border.
He decided to delay his return for three months and looked for a job.By chance the Ambassadeurs du Motel
had a vacancy-three months turned into nine years and Kanté Manfila became "chef d'orchestre".It was Kanté who introduced new compositions based on traditional tunes
before his arrival les Ambassadeurs interpreted Latin American tunes,valses mussettes,Nana Mouskouri and songs like "strangers in the night"........
things didn't turned out smoothly in Bamako so the Ambassadeurs tried their luck in Abidjan,where their arrived in August 1978.After one year of suffering they made it to the top ,they sold
more records than any other artist there.But with the fame came the relatives,who filled up their house in Abidjan,staying there for months.And when some of the glamour around the band faded away
when the economic situation in Abidjan became harder,in 1985 they decided to move to Paris;
first Salif Keita on his own ,then Kanté Manfila and the rest of"les Ambassadeurs".



Kanté Manfila left this world on 20 July 2011
I will always remember and thank him dearly



Tradition


Kanté Manfila-guitar,vocals
Mory Kanté-kora
Djanka Diabaté & Oumou Diabaté-vocals
Ibrahima Diawara-bala
Kaba Kanté-guitar

Tsikaya - Ritmos da nova Angola

The function of music as a message vehicle is ancient in Africa. Tsikaya, a cultural project taking place in Angola, draws on this notion by recording the musical works of composers living in rural areas. It aims to preserve and strengthen traditional music by creating a digital archive with music, images and data about the composers, and to stimulate local music production as a sustainable livelihood.

Angolan composer Victor Gama initiated the Tsikaya project in 1997 while on a field trip to the southeastern province of Cuando-Cubango in Angola. 'I wanted to have an idea of what was being produced musically in that remote part of the country under the armed conflict', he explains. 'The musicians who participated then, took the opportunity of an open microphone and a tape recorder to send out messages to other parts of Angola, as this was the only means at that moment to do so.' One of the songs recorded, for instance, is called Mensagem a Luanda, (Message to Luanda). The singer expresses his worries about the situation and problems afflicting his village, and asks for assistance from the capital.
In the following year, Victor Gama criss-crossed northern Namibia, from Rundu to Rwakana, and recorded many Angolan refugee artists, choir groups, children songs and the sound of open air markets. In 2003, Tsikaya, which is named after a traditional instrument from Cuando-Cubango, gained a more structured base with financial support from the Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa (NiZA) and a partnership between Gama's own cultural association PangeiArt and the Angolan NGO's Bismas and ADRA.

A production team was set up, and working groups in four remote villages in the coastal province of Benguela were created, consisting of local community co-ordinators, musicians, and traditional authorities. 'We worked for one month with the working groups in the communities of Luongo, Hanha do Norte, Cubal and Dombe Grande'. 'We recorded, interviewed and photographed the composers with a laptop running ProTools, a music production software that allowed us to master the music on the spot.'

The production team created a digital archive that has its home at Bismas' office in Benguela. A first sample CD with a compilation of songs was edited and the team plans to produce a new edition that can be sold and generate an income for the composers. 'The cultural heritage of communities and their creative potential are the immediate capital that can be converted into assets to improve living standards and cultural enrichment', Victor Gama says. Other intended sources of income for the communities are instruments and handcrafts building and sales, workshops, exchanges and performances by master musicians.

Inge Ruigrok/Feb. 2004/Tapping into musical heritage to create a livelihood for rural Angola

visit www.tsikaya.org for more

a sample cd of just 19 min, the first in  the series was released  in 2004

enough to give us an idea  about the first fruits of  this renaissance project
needless to say how valuable can be even the slightest support  in such  efforts 

and  far better,let's go ahead and  create our cultural  projects- everywhere!

Ritmos da nova Angola

Gerewol

Guérewol

gerewol photos 
by Ronald Vriesema 

les Peulhs du Niger

Inna baba Coulibaly-Lobo

words  fail to express (such a ) beauty
that we have to approach with respect and feel it wholeheartedly
and  be ready to  recognize it  when it appears
one of this year's revelations
and another precious gift from ngoni


Lobo


for the record & pasted from Natari :

Sekou Kouyate  guitar
Abdoulaye Sackone   n'goni
Djoke Sissoko   traditional flute
Bako Keita bass and percussion
Moriba Koita   n'goni and doundoumba
Mama Assitan Keita & Niama Tounkara backing vocals

Coumbane mint Ely Warakane

* * * * *