Africa -- The Source
by Derk Richardson
In this brief overview of African American music forms
and cross influences a lot of discussion is allotted to the disemination
of African influence to the Americas. The availability of American popular
music throughout the world has led musicians in Africa and elsewhere to
incorporate the best elements into their own work, resulting in fascinating
new combinations. For every Henry Kaiser or Paul Simon there is a Baaba
Maal or Ali Farka Toure who communicate across the oceans in this great
supra-national conversation. African American music serves as a rare bridge
between cultures, one which offers so much and finally in the '90's can
easily be discovered on so many great recordings.
In the future this area will expand with interviews and
profiles of featured artists.
Africa Top Ten
by Derk Richardson
- Baaba Maal, Djam Leelii (Mango).
Joined as usual by his family griot and gritty vocalist
Mansour Seck, the brilliant guitarist/singer of the Fula ethnic group
of northern Senegal turns in his most mesmerizing acoustic performance,
even more rivetting than his compelling electric band.
-
A World Out of Time Volumes 1 & 2: Henry Kaiser
and David Lindley in Madagascar (Shanachie).
In a field of many fine compilations of traditional and popular Malagasy
styles, these recent anthologies capture the best examples of old
masters and young synthesists, sometimes melding indigenous instruments
with modern imports.
-
Ali Farka Toure, The River (Mango).
Called the John Lee Hooker of Mali, Ali Farka Toure
is a master of African boogie drones, eccentric guitar picking, and
mysteriously soulful vocals, joined by westerners on two numbers --busker
Rory McLeod on harmonica and Celtic artists Seane Keane and Kevin
Conneff on fiddle and bodhran. Hear his melodic repititions against
a slinky rhythm on "Ai Bine"
-
Various Artists, Guitar Paradise of East Africa
(Earthworks).
Recorded in Nairobi, Kenya, this scintillating collection
reflects the rhumba and Country and Western strains incorporated by
Kenyans, Tanzanians, and Zaireans on their delightfully jittery electric
guitars.
-
Longtime pop music heroine of the Cape Verde Islands, Evora has managed
to make the move to Paris and gain wide Western acceptance without
losing the poignant beauty of her lilting native music, sung in Portugese
with marked similarities to Brazilian samba. "Petit Pays" offers tribute
to her home land of Cape Verde.
-
Toumani Diabate, Djelika (Hannibal).
Having proven himself capable of world fusion crossover magic (with
flamenco guitarists in Songhai), this young kora master from Mali
is at his best updating his native traditions, here with balafon and
ngoni, with subtle tinges of jazz added by bassists Danny Thompson
and Javier Colina.
-
Various Artists, Tanzania Dance Bands Volume 2
(LineMonsun).
Featuring such stellar outfits as Orchestra Maquis,
Juwata Jazz, and International Orchestra Safari Sound, this infectious
compilation imparts the feeling of East Africa's itinerant equivalent
of '30s and '40s big bands led by Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford and
Don Redman, often only driven by dazzling electric guitar interplay.
-
Various Artists, Zimbabwe Frontline Vol. 1
(Earthworks).
Such stars as Thomas Mapfumo and Oliver Mtukudzi update
traditional shona music with western instruments pumping up the volume
on indigenous styles: fired by revolutionary spirit and irresistibly
danceable.
-
Various Artists, The Indestructible Beat of Soweto
Vols 1-4.
Amidst the plethora of music that has emerged from
South Africa, these discs of urban township music, including mbaqanga,
soul, and neo-traditional styles not only help you understand what
got Paul Simon so fired up, but marvelously reveal the seamless integration
of western influences into music that is undeniably South African.
-
D'Gary, Malagasy Guitar Music from Madagascar
(Shanachie).
The indigenous stringed instruments of Madagascar reflect
the island's cultural isolation, but D'Gary applies techniques and
melodies to the guitar and comes across like a Malagasy Leo Kottke
or John Fahey.
|
