JUNE 29-JULY 5: AFRICAN FLUTES, XYLOPHONES AND STRING INSTRUMENTS
This week we shall dine on some multi-instrumental African music. While in Africa the drum may be king, there are extraordinary musical adventures to be had in all parts of the region with a smattering of strings, horns, flutes, xylophones and other kinds of melodic accouterments. Listen on Spotify.
— E.T. Mensah, “Ghana Guinea Mali”: E.T. Mensah was a pioneer of Ghanaian highlife music, crossing African rhythms with Western styles like big band jazz, and rumba. His ebullient African horn arrangements are on display in tracks like “Ghana Guinea Mali,” a version of which appears on All Around This World: Africa (West, Central and South).
[wpspoiler name=”Mensah’s Ghana-Guinea-Mali” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
While searching for live highlife performances on YouTube this one popped up. The performance is good, but the description of this video of a joyful highlife performance was particularly intriguing: “Some live band at my grannys funeral in Ghana”
[wpspoiler name=”Live highlife band in Ghana…at granny’s funeral?” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Syran Mbenza Ensemble, “Tour a Tour”: Mbenza is widely considered to be one of Africa’s premiere guitarists. In the course of decades of performing, creating solo albums and robust studio work his effortless Congolese guitar melodies have come to define “the sound of African music.”
[wpspoiler name=”The sweet guitar sound of Syran Mbenza” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
Mbenza’s “Tour a Tour” is one of the tracks on an album of songs remembering and respecting African guitar icon Franco. Meet Franco here.
[wpspoiler name=”Meet Franco” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Hugh Masekela: “Emavungweri”: Master of African jazz, Masekela set the standard for African horn players with decades of international cross-genre hits.
[wpspoiler name=”Masekela Live” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Tinariwen, “Cler Achel”: Africa’s archetype Tuareg nomad desert rock band. Their guitar work is distinctive and mesmerizing.
[wpspoiler name=”Tinariwen’s Cler Achel” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Bernard Kabanda, “The Firewood Collector”: Pioneer of the stripped-down Ugandan singer-songwriter genre, “kadongo kamu,” which refers to one person playing one guitar.
[wpspoiler name=”Bernard Kabanda: Olugendo Lw’e Bulaya (The Journey to Europe)” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Hallelujah Chicken Run Band, “Ngoma Yarira”: Hands down the band with the best name ever, this Zimbabwean ensemble fused Africa with Western styles by bringing the traditional thumb piano, the mbira, into African pop. The Chicken Run Band was the early musical home of now-legendary Thomas Mapfumo.
[wpspoiler name=”Hallelujah Chicken Run Band featuring Thomas Mapfumo and Johan Sithole” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
Here is a taste of mbira:
[wpspoiler name=”Mbira (thumb piano)” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Mamadou Diabate, “Yaka Yaka”: Diabate plays kora, a large, many-stringed, West African harp. He hails from a legendary family of Malian “griots.”
[wpspoiler name=”Mamadou Diabate playing kora” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Ali Farka Touré, “Ruby”: Revered Malian guitarist, Touré was one of the fathers of “Malian blues.”
[wpspoiler name=”Ali Farka Touré with kora player Toumani Diabaté” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Neba Solo, “Nekriz Longa”: “Neba Solo” is Souleymane Traoré, Malian bala (xylophone) player extraordinaire.
[wpspoiler name=”Neba Solo live in Mali” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Mohammed Antar: “Nekriz Longa”: Antar is an accomplished Egyptian ney (flute) player who also conducts the Ensemble Munajah and Oriental Secrets Ensemble.
[wpspoiler name=”Mohammed Antar live (ney)” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Hassan Hakmoun (and Jamshied Shariff), “Open”: Hakmoun is a master of the sintir, the deep Moroccan stringed instrument that forms the basis of spiritual, trance-like music known as Gnawa.
[wpspoiler name=”Hassan Hakmoun on sintir” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Baba Sissoko, “Aka Guilia”: Malian musician Sissoko is best-known for performing on the “tamani” (ancient talking drum) but he also plays a mean ngoni, a West-African stringed instrument.
[wpspoiler name=”Sissoko and Black Machine” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
— Anemut Kinde, “Tew Erese Gebere”: Widely acclaimed master of the Ethiopian flute, the washint.
[wpspoiler name=”Living Legacy of Animut” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
