Get up and Go

its my wish 

from Ambuya Nyati

Bukatiende

Malissadio

Malissadio

Kouyaté Kandia des Ballets Africains de Keita Fodéba

*

à Bako Dagnon

a farewell to Bako 

Née en 1953 à Golobladji, au Sud-Ouest du Mali, dans le cercle de Kita, un berceau important de la culture mandingue, Bako Dagnon a mémorisé les histoires et traditions musicales de son pays, au point qu’elle est devenue une sorte de gardienne du temple, des secrets les mieux gardés du vaste empire mandingue. Elle a 19 ans quand elle a été remarquée pour la première fois lors de la Biennale de la Jeunesse de Bamako (1972). Créées par le premier président du Mali indépendant, Modibo Keita, les biennales étaient un véritable creuset d’expression des multiples traditions culturelles du pays et un lieu de révélation de talents

Hommage :Bako Dagnon, une voix africaine

also

local tape /date unknown :

SS-81

listening 

Bako live 

à Sékou Touré , le guide de la  revolution 

à Ifang Bondi

Ifang Bondii -Saya Manyi

Mariama Bâ-Hommage à Ifang Bondi

Saraba

Shango

Shango

Prince Twins Seven-Seven

Shango and his festival, 1988

refresh
for Oshun

Freedom

two (of the infinite) aspects of freedom

Freedom Yes!

Apartheid No! 

Guitar  Lucky Ranku
Piano Cecil Barnard
Bass  Steve Sgodini Scipio, Victor Ntoni
Malombo Drums  Julian Sebothane Bahula -and here 
Drums, Percussion  Babafumi Akunyun

Flute, Alto Saxophone Mike Mathome Rose 

Vocals Pinise Saul, Samora Hlatshwayo, Selaelo Maredi, 
Seth Sibanda, Sipo Mzimela, Thembi Mtshali 

Recorded live at Konserthuset, Stockholm, 18/2/1979

 & Freedom Sounds 

Leader ,Drums (1st Repeater) & vocals Ras Michael (Testa Zion)
Bass  Paul Drysdale (Paulie)
Bass Drum  Ras Martin (I Marts)
Drums (1st Founder)  Alvin Hewitt (I Jack)
Guitar(Lead)  Chinna
Guitar (Solo)  Bro Clarence
Guitar (2nd Guitar) Bro Rupert Mc Farlane
Harmony Voices  Brother Leroy, Brother Thomas (Jat)

Unity

Organisation de l'Unité Africaine

O.U.A

Papa et Kandia Kouyaté

from O.U.A 84 

O.U.A Warra

Kelan Phil Cohran

Unity

Meditations

Forward Kwenda was born in the rural Buhera area of Zimbabwe, and as a boy excelled in traditional dance and recitation of ancient poetry. At the age of 10, he began to play ngoma (drums) and hosho (gourd rattles) for his mother's gombwe (rain-making) spirit. He was given the name "Forward" because of his curiosity about many subjects, enthusiastic involvement in many activities, and his singing for liberation war freedom fighters.

At an early age, Forward borrowed an mbira and, with no teacher other than occasional radio programs, began to play on his own. In 1984, Kwenda moved to Zimbabwe's capital city of Harare and began to play mbira with other musicians. Within a year, he had formed his own mbira group and was making records and performing on national radio, as well as performing constantly at mapira ceremonies. During this period, he was informed by powerful rain-making spirits that he was to devote his life to playing mbira for their ceremonies. He was particularly known as the teenager for bringing the desired spirits to a ceremony by the end of the first song .
In 1985, Forward began playing in a unique complex style - much to the amazement of master mbira players two and three generations his senior. This style, considered in Shona culture to be "more ancient" because spirits prefer it

Svikiro

 

Vinelo

Benediction

This is an opening segment for a tromba ceremony,
 in which ancestral spirits are alerted to the need for them to appear in the present moment.
 Specific spirits have particular powers, so a different spirit will be called
 depending on the needs of the particular participants at each tromba ceremony.
 Some spirits for instance are adept at curing particular illnesses;
 others resolve disputes; others give good advice, etc. 
Each spirit has a particular melodic motive, played on maro tady, to which she or he will respond.
 As this is the musical introduction to a tromba ceremony, 
Vinelo is performing much chanting in this segment
 in which he is communicating to and about the razana,
 the collective of revered Malagasy ancestral spirits.
 At approximately 4'30" Vinelo begins a deep breathy mode of singing called ndrimotra,
 a term which comes from the verb "to heal". 
At approximately 11'20" Vinelo moves into a different melodic motive.
 Here he would be beginning to invite a particular ancestral spirit into the present
 to affect treatment of an ill patient. 

Nafi Diabaté dite Marimar

I ended previous post with a video of Marimar

it's her  time again,enjoy 

Je m'appelle Nafissatou Diabaté, dite Nafi mais surtout Marimar.

Je suis native de Ségou. Mon père s'appelle Oumar Koné dit Baroublen et ma mère Tata Koné.

J'ai reçu la chanson du côté de ma mère, car, du côté de mon père, il n'y a pas de chanteurs.

C'est à l'âge de douze ans que j'ai commencé à chanter. Ma carrière solo a véritablement débuté en 1998, tout juste après mon mariage. A l'époque, je faisais des sumu. J'ai fait mon premier album en 2000, avec pour titre phare « Aye Deme », et le second « Kouma madi « . Je prépare mon 3ème et 4ème albums. Tous les deux comptent 10 titres chacun. Et la sortie officielle c'est pour très bientôt, Inchallah.
Un mot sur les thématiques développées dans vos chansons.
Je parle de l'amour, de la patience, de la paix et surtout des conseils, car une griotte qui ne peut pas donner des conseils ne remplit pas sa mission
Au début, mon père était catégoriquement opposé à mon choix de mener une carrière artistique. Mais, le croyant qu`il est a fini par comprendre que je ne suivais que mon destin. Il m`a alors donné sa bénédiction.
La jeune sœur de lait de ma mère est la maman de Cheick et Modibo Diabaté. J'ai passé mon enfance auprès d'elle et comme elle est cantatrice, j'ai suivi ses traces.

from 

first and best record so far from year 2000 (I think)

A yé n'dèmè

with 

Cheikh O. Diabaté

guitar  and arrangements

Dia N'gnano,Bintu Bombeté,Tenén Kouyaté

chorus

Modibo Diabaté

guitar

Oumar Diabaté "Dagnon"

bass

Gaoussou Diabaté

ngoni

Lassana Diabaté

balafon

Madou Koné

tamani

Adama Diarra

djembe

Fela Lamine Camara

keyboard

Zoumana Treta

soku

where do the ancient statues go,after ISIS demolishes them?

It was yesterday evening that I realized that the youtube channel of my friend Ngoniba ,is no more.Gone..
He didn't inform me and I was too busy to follow what was happening around.
The truth remains like a bad joke:1600 videos of (mainly)Malian and West African music treasures,many of them of unique historical value  have vanished since 2 months from youtube due to Africacable claims of copyright infringement for some of their videos .
I was  shocked  though very familiar with the new (web  or  out of the web) practices.
It was like bombing a whole city for hosting 3 terrorists,or a very similar tactic to what those criminals of ISIS do in Iraq.I wasn't missing something.in my picture no!
Years of work and research have vanished with no good reason ,or I'm free to suspect   for a very good reason:
Real African culture (and Third World culture in general )is unwanted in a business system ( I won't call it a civilization,civilizations even the most barbaric have at least principles )  that promotes (scientifically and backed up with tons of money ) racism,sexism, materialism and their variations as their basic everyday drag .
there is no future for the human race in such a system.
but there is plenty of future out of it
I'm really sorry for them.

....and  I'm sorry for me too
for not protecting enough our heritage of those ancient statues

Antoninho Travadinha

“I heard the sound of the violin and I began searching who was playing it . 
It was there in the font , a small man, almost hidden, but his music was fantastic”.
from João Freire's memories

Antoninho Travadinha was one of the greatest violinists that ever came out of  Cabo Verde
and his name is still revered  among the next  generations of musicians at home and in diaspora.
Travadinha was born on the island of Santo Antão to a music family:
father violinist and seven brothers who played the violin.He  was participating to the local balls with his rabeca since he was nine, despite the objections of his father.
Besides the violin he played wonderfully well the viola(12 string guitar) the cavaquinho and  violão;
his  interpretations and improvisations  on the traditional mornas ,coladeiras and mazurkas had a unique style
Due to his humble social status the recognition of his talent was not easy:
Travadinha had  to wait until he was  40  to start becoming  little known as a musician,
particularly after 1981 and this thanks to  a visit  to Portugal 
where he was "discovered" and promoted by João Freire .

With the help of Associação De Amizade Portugal - Cabo Verde
his only record whille living,Feiticeira De Cor Morena was released in Portugal in 1986 and was welcomed  enthusiastically by the press and   music lovers.of the time....

Travadinha died few months later, in 1987....

Feiticeira De Cor Morena

for the record:
Antonio Travadinha: violono,viola de dez cordas,cavaquinho
Armando  Tito:violão solo,viola dez dez cordas,cavaquinho,baixo electrico,chocalho,reco-reco,voz
Ildo Ramos:violão
Micau:bongos,reco-reco,chocalho
Ana Firmino :voz

Spring Waterfall

 time for 

Foday Musa Suso-Pharoah Sanders-Eberhard Weber

Spring Waterfall

Foday Musa Suso Kora Music from the Gambia

Yarona

today was (another) revisiting Abdullah Ibrahim day for me
it's been (already)20 earth years since this  marvel  came out

Yarona

plus

wonders enough to last an eternity

one

two

three

four

five

six

seven

eight

Sogo

****

Rakotozafy-Valiha Malaza

in short 

we play valiha like in heaven...you cannot compete......"Lekatseka"

Rakotozafy (pronounced Rakoutzaf)-b.1933-d.1974,is the founding father of modern Madagascan music.
His origins were in the Sihanaka tribe from the Lake Alaotra region.
He was called the "Robert Johnson of Madagascar" and like Johnson, he was one of the best players on his instrument,
in this case a variation of the national stringed instrument known as the valiha,
called the marovany.
His instrument featured a total of 24 strings in the two sets, each set tuned to a different scale.
.Rakotozafy made his first recordings on singles and 45 EPs in the '60s for DiscoMad
and was frequently accompanied by Freddy Renarison and Rakotofra,the sodina player
 in live performances,
often supported by his son on percussion and vocals, that he really excelled.
He performed before the president Philibert Tsiranana in 1962 as well as thousands of his country people.
Reports suggest that he actually visited U.K. in the early 60s as a member of Sylvestre Randafison's group,
Ny Antsaly.
That so much confusing and conflicting information surrounds his life simply adds
to his reputation with numerous African musicians.

The circumstances of his death have never been established, although there are plenty of theories,
one of which maintains that he accidentally killed his son while performing by hitting him after he made an error,and died in prison a broken man.
Another suggests he received six years' back-dated royalties from Discomad and drank himself to death.
Neither theory appears to hold much in the way of truth.
Tao Ravao and Justin Vali created an extended musical work in honor of Rakotozafy,
entitled "Valiha Malaza,"which was first performed at the 2001 Festival Africolor.

like in  heaven :)

*****

Cliss

Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel  or  ***

also known as

Cliss

from the  permanently blistering   Guelewar