Mande music culture in New York is a rich cultural well, growing deeper by the day. Part of Smithsonian Folkways' "Global Beat of the Bouroughs" series, this set of 11 tracks samples work by some of the city's most gifted resident musicians from Mali, Guinea, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. The album begins with five tracks from Super Manden, a collection of Malian and Guinean instrumentalists fronted alternately by two great Malian singers, Adjaratou Tapani Sissoko, and Abdoulaye Diabaté.
Abdoulaye kicks off with "Fakoli," an ancient song composed for a sorcerer and warrior, and a contemporary of the first Manding Empire king, Sunjata Keita. Super Manden delivers roiling balafon work from Abou Sylla, tumbling kora interplay from Yacouba Sissoko and Mamadou Diabaté, and the percussive melodies of Fousseny Kouyaté's ngoni filled out by Cheick Barry on bass and Moussa Sissoko on guitar. In his usual, august voice, Abdoulaye---whose older brother is the legendary griot vocalist Kasse Mady Diabaté---sings, "Clear the way; the sorcerers are coming!" The musical sorcery continues with Adjaratou Tapani Sissoko adding a woman's touch as she heats up a classic Manding griot praise song, "Jigiya." Another standout in the Super Manden set is "Nanfulen," which starts out with a foreboding guitar intro from Moussa Sissoko but unfolds into a happily rolling bed of sound over which Abdoulaye sings in his gentlest croon.
The sound of Guinea comes through strongly on the band Fula Flute's rendition of "Keme Burema," featuring glorious, overblown tambin flute playing from Bailo Bah, and also on "Diniya." Here, Abou Sylla's balafon and Fodé Bangoura's djembe drumming set the stage for jelimouso (female griot singer) Djefalima Diabaté as she proclaims, "Young people--submit to the will of your parents… You won't regret it."
Two wonderful kora-and-vocal pieces from Saliou Suso of Gambia and Keba Cissoko of Guinea Bissau provide an intriguing contrast to the Malian kora work on the Super Manden pieces. Suso's rendition of "Sidi Yellah"---sung for a 1920s Gambian religious leader, Sidi Aidara---emphasizes a warm, thrumming tone, tripping rhythms, and a ringing drone on the high strings, all characteristic of Gambian kora playing. In a voice full of rugged charm, Suso sings, "Sidi has died… Even Satan and the jinn are mourning too." Keba Cissoko contributes a sweet rendition of the classic "Allah L'a Ke." The kora was probably invented in Cissoko's homeland, Guinea Bissau, and the style there is closer to the restless Gambian sound than to the more fluid and modern Malian approach. Suso and Cissoko also sing and play kora at the same time, like troubadours, something that is rare among Malian kora players.
This fine collection winds up with a fitting bit of New York fusion from the band Tamalalou, fronted by Keba Cissoko and featuring here the guitar work of Canadian flutist and guitar player Sylvain Leroux, as well as jazz-inflected bass playing from Peter Fand. The song is "Djiu de Galinha," a Portuguese Creole tune from 1960s, reworked as an anti war song. By the way, lyrics for all these songs are included in the CD liner notes, unusual on any Manding recording, and most welcome here. Kudos to Smithsonian Folkways and producer Tom van Buren for pulling together such a friendly introduction to the astonishing wealth of Mande musicians now living and working in New York City.
Mande music culture in New York is a rich cultural well, growing deeper by the day. Part of Smithsonian Folkways' "Global Beat of the Bouroughs" series, this set of 11 tracks samples work by some of the city's most gifted resident musicians from Mali, Guinea, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. The album begins with five tracks from Super Manden, a collection of Malian and Guinean instrumentalists fronted alternately by two great Malian singers, Adjaratou Tapani Sissoko, and Abdoulaye Diabaté.
