Baaba Maal et Dande Lenol - Wango (1987)

Moments after entering the Berkeley record store, on my way home from work, the clerk, who was familiar with my weekly Friday visits, said: "Check this out!" He put this record on his deck and filled the shop with Massamba Diop's tremendous tama. This was my introduction to Baaba Maal et Dande Lenol, so many years ago, and it opened a whole new avenue in my obsession.

Wango, simply put, is a masterpiece. Every song is exquisitely crafted and performed. Dande Lenol was incredibly tight on this perfectly recorded and mixed album, a definitive Sylla production. The rhythms are complex and urgent, and Maal's singing is sublime.

Two of the songs, "Laam Tooro" and "Loodo," are electrified versions of the well-loved acoustic versions on the earlier recorded, yet later globally released, Djam Leelii. Wango is a great way to start your week, as it has mine.

Enjoy!

Thione Seck - Le Pouvoir d'un Coeur Pur (1988)

Recorded in Paris with his band Raam Daan, this strong album from Thione Seck reprises songs from cassettes that had made him a household name in Senegal, following his divergence from Orchestre Baobab.

On this record Seck's majestic voice towers above complex, driving rhythms, while the horns and guitars weave an almost jazz-like improvisational thread through the mbalax, especially on "Yaye Boy." I prefer the B side of this record with it's two tremendous, urgent mbalax songs and the final, reggae-fied ballad. It is impossible to sit still, listening to it.

Enjoy!

Baaba Maal - Taara (1990)

Baaba Maal has moved well beyond the role of innovative musician on the world stage. Recently he was named Oxfam's Global Ambassador to bring global attention to the food crisis in Africa. He has a unique voice to lend to a cause, one that was consistently awesome through decades of many recordings. While I became increasingly dismayed by the homogenized, transglobal sound of his later records, not able to listen to Television at all, his early recordings still resonate with complex rhythms and an authentic vision.

Taara sits on the edge of Baaba's move towards global stardom, retaining the tough Dande Lenol sound of the wonderful preceding recording, Wango, while pointing towards the ever more electronic future. A typically strong Ibrahima Sylla production, Taara layers European horns and keyboards on the core guitar/percussion/voice that made Dande Lenol such a potent band. Massamba Diop's tama is killer, like always, but it is Baaba Maal's voice that sails above all and keeps it together.

Enjoy!

Quatre Etoiles - Dance (1985)

Early this year I posted 6 Tubes from this supergroup, before calamity befell many blog colleagues. I had this great record queued, but at the time it was available on Global Groove and I deferred. Dance is one of the most tasty Quatre Etoiles records, in my opinion, and one of its earliest.

So to fill in one of the gaps in the GG cloud library, here is a Zimbabwe pressing of this classic, complete with its marginal sleeve art. You can read more about the band in my previous post.

Enjoy!

Ndombe Opetum - 20 Ans de Carriere (1989)

I have been on the road lately, in more ways than one, so have been unable to post regularly. Yet I did learn with sadness of the recent demise of Ndombe Opetum, via the inimitable World Service blog. I highly recommend you go there for a complete biography, pictures and a video.

While I cannot offer any deeper information about "Pepé", I can offer in tribute some music from the masterful composer/singer, who was such a presence in both Afrisa and T.P.O.K. Jazz over many years.  Today's record, on the Anytha-Ngapy label, presents two long medleys of Opetum's memorable songs.

Sadly I lost track of the album, so the (pristine) recording here is from the first-play copy I made years ago on a metal cassette. Unfortunately I have no information on the other personnel involved in this tasty session. Perhaps others could enlighten us in the comments?

Enjoy!

Gamma Express - Vol. 6 - Têt Colé

Along with the cumbia that developed along the Caribbean rim of Colombia, Haiti's konpa is one of the most infectious dance musics to evolve in the African diaspora. Gamma Express was one of the leading bands in Haiti during the 1980s, led by Pierrot Kersaint. It is incredible that such joyous music would emerge from a country plagued with oppression and grinding poverty; but looking around the world, perhaps it is not unusual.

The title track, Têt Colé, has it all. It begins with half a minute of schmaltzy introduction before the vocal ensemble erupts and percussion and guitars set up an irresistible rhythm. Then horns enter, along with occasionally improvising synthesizer, ramping up the energy, and in steps lead singer Benito D'Haiti. Half-way through the eight-and-a-half minute song, the synth sets up a break; the rhythms resume, and a women's chorus drops in like a swinging Andrews sisters. Sweet!

All but one of the five songs on this album follow that winning formula, although lamentably the women sing on only two songs. The last song, though perhaps sweet for those in the know (or the family), reminds me of karaoke in a dive bar, and I apologize for not being fastidious in removing the pops and cracks. I just could not bear to listen to it more than once, and in fact removed it from my iTunes library. The rest of the songs are keepers; in fact I have been listening to them a lot recently.

Enjoy!

Jali Musa Jawara - Yasimika (1990)

Proclaimed and generally acknowledged as one of the classic recordings from Africa, this exquisitely recorded gem has the power to haunt for decades. Guinean kora master Jali Musa Jawara (Diawara) headlines this record, though his kora is set amidst equally skilled balafon from Jalimrijan Kuyateh and two other Kuyatehs, Lamine and Kissiman, on guitar. Jawara's singing is passionate and beautiful, and perfectly balanced with the female chorus.

Drawn from two of the most legendary griot families, this ensemble provided a revelatory introduction to Manding love and praise songs, when it was first released in 1983. This 1990 reissue on Hannibal spread it throughout the world. Apparently it was remastered a few years ago for a second CD release, but nothing in this original release needs any tampering whatsoever.

Enjoy!

Zani Diabate & The Super Djata Band (1986)

As a military coup rocks Mali today, throwing the country into chaos, this ferocious music from The Super Djata band could be one choice for a soundtrack. Perhaps a melancholic ballad from Rokia Traoré would be a better choice, but that is a separate discussion.

Zani Diabate burst onto the international market with this record, and his fierce guitar became the focus of critic notice. He is compared on the album sleeve to Jimi Hendrix, T-Bone Walker, B.B. King and Freddie King, but his innovative accomplishment was providing a completely new interpretation of Malian guitar.

This album throbs with energy, though it is not all generated by Zani's guitar. Super Djata was co-founded by the great Daouda "Flani" Sangare, and his urgent singing is easily as remarkable as the guitar. You can read more about this extraordinary musician on Worldservice's very first post. Percussion is always up front on this session, with trap drums jousting with traditional Malinke drumming. The album rocks, from beginning to end, sounding just as fresh and modern now as it did a quarter century ago.

Enjoy!

Le Grand Maitre Franco - Attention Na SIDA (1987)

What better album to begin a second year and the second hundred posts than this masterpiece from the grand Franco Luambo? The long title track is a polemic and a protest, an outcry and a public health message, a heartfelt entreaty to the world to beware the scourge of AIDS. One cannot listen to Franco singing, with more emotion than ever before, without being moved. His outrage thunders forth with the authoritative voice of a god, while ache and despair are just below the surface. Two years after producing this tremendous recording, Franco would die of the dread disease.

Recorded in Brussels while on business without his band, Franco recruited members of Victoria Eleison to back him. The music absolutely sparkles. While the first magnificent moral diatribe carries a message, the two songs on the flip side are built to move the body. The Checain song "Mpo Na Nini Kaka Ngai?" swings with a retro feel, while the more concise "Na Poni Kaka Yo Mayi" carries the youthful energy of the Langa Langa generation. Feast and . . .

Enjoy!

Akendengue - Owende (1979)

For this, my one-hundredth post and the beginning of this blog's second year of life, I offer a special album that is one of my favorites, Pierre Akendengue's fourth album, Owende. As I wrote in my first, testing-the-water post here, I have a long history with Akendengue's music. I consider him to be a musical genius with an unique vision.

The brilliance begins with rhythms, which are always complex and impelling, yet the rhythm section integrally includes the human instrument alongside various drums, either voice or clapping hands, or both. In many of his songs the usually female chorus adds rhythmic cadence, in call-and-reponse exchanges with Akendengue, but often the voices are used specifically to augment or even give foundation for the whole rhythmic structure.

Voices, including his own, are central to Akendengue's beautiful music, and this album opens with harmonious, gentle singing. His vocalizations are inspired by his observations of birdsong in Gabon's rainforest, but a couple of the songs on this album feature Akendengue as poet, much more common in his early albums.

Akendengue is a social critic, and this may be his most explicitly political album. Owende translates as Oppression, and the song "Anome Anomie" celebrates a plethora of freedom fighters including Patrice Lumumba, Amilcar Cabral, Che Guevara and Malcolm X, among others. All of the lyrics are included in the centerfold of this deluxe album, replicated for your benefit in the download folder. With great pleasure I invite you to. . .

Enjoy!

L'Afrique Danse No. 2 (1966)

The L'Afrique Danse series is without doubt the most important, early effort to catalog and preserve the extraordinary musical ferment occurring in the two Congos during the 1960s. This second in the series is dominated by early hits by Rochereau with African Fiesta, and the Rochereau tracks are truly wonderful. Yet there is also one killer song from Kalle, crooning with a Latin swing, and two sweet songs from Jean (Johnny) Bokelo with his band Conga Succès. The album ends with two songs from Orchestre Los Angel, an obscure band in the O.K. Jazz mold led by Albert Missia, aka Robin.

This is a wonderful record with sublime music, and it has appeared elsewhere on the 'net. Yet this is a relatively pristine copy, suffering from a couple of original recording issues (especially on the Los Angels cuts), but thankfully free from defects caused by playing it over and over. Which, by the way, is your fate once you have this in your library. I have excellent copies of Nos. 3 & 4 as well, and will queue them up.

Enjoy!

Choc Stars - Awa et Ben (1986)

Here is the Siamese twin to my last post, delayed by two feet of snow and then 5,000 miles of flight. I believe this record comes from the same recording session as the one below, and have always felt that the strongest songs of the session were chosen for the first Shock. The Choc Stars are no less impressive on this record: the singing is impeccable, the guitars are splendid (who are they?), and the rhythms rockin'.

So have a listen, and see what you think. Are these songs weaker, or did I just tire of the formula after eight long songs on two records?

Enjoy sometime soon!

Choc Stars - Choc=Shock=Choc (1986)

The Choc Stars were one of the descendent bands of the extensive Zaiko Langa Langa family, formed in 1983 by Bozi Boziana and Ben Nyamo. During the mid-'80s wonderful singer Matumona Defao Lulendo joined, and a number of wonderful albums resulted. The pioneer "world music" label GlobeStyle, which had an exquisite ability to find and publish essential music from Africa and beyond, licensed two 1986 Afro Rythmes records, for nearly simultaneous UK and U$ releases. This spectacular record is one, and the other is queued for imminent posting.

One of my colleagues at The Beat, the Congolese music expert Martin Sinnock, devoted one of his first column's to the Choc Stars, and I recommend reading it here. Though none of the musicians are credited on the album sleeve, Martin identifies Koffi Olomide as a guest on this session. The harmonic singing throughout this record is fabulous, especially notable on "Lieven" and "Santa." The guitarists are great. Anyone who has further information on musicians, please share in comments. Others, just immerse yourself and...

Enjoy sometime soon!

Oliver Mutukudzi - Live at Sakubva Concert (1989)

One of the legendary Zimbabwean musicians who continues to perform into his fourth career decade, Oliver Mutukudzi recorded this milestone in Sakubva Stadium in Mutare, on 29 April 1989. Not only was this his first live recording, it also is claimed to be the first live pop recording done in Zimbabwe.

Despite some significant vinyl defects, I value this album especially for Tuku's exuberance. Recorded when great optimism remained in the country, ten years after the overthrow of Rhodesia's post-colonial, racist government, a listener can tell the audience and musicians connected for an unforgettable night. The breadth of Mutukudzi's unique style is evident in these twelve songs, drawing from Shona and Ndebele traditional, chimurenga, and South African pop influences.

Tuku's expressive baritone is backed by his band Black Spirits, composed at the time by: Robert Mutukudzi (Keyboard), Moses Mullah (Lead guitar), Job Mteswa (Rhythm guitar), James Austin (Drums), Sam Mtowa (Drums/vocals), Joseph Alphas (Bass guitar), Basil Phiri (Sax) and Picky Kasamba (Vocals). The live recording itself is good, and hopefully someday it will be rescued from master tapes and made available on a better medium than this inferior vinyl. The album has a generous two records that I processed as one, but divided into two for smaller downloads.

Enjoy Part 1 and Part 2!

The Mighty Invaders - Invasion! (1983)

Let's slip into the weekend with an easy skankin' dose of classic reggae from The Mighty Invaders. This roots band was based in Baltimore, Maryland, but recorded at two of Jamaica's legendary studios: Tuff Gong and Channel One.

It's been many years since I listened to this record, and it amazed me how familiar it is. The first song, "Hatred," sets a deep hook. Notable with this band is the key role of women singers, a relatively rare situation in roots reggae, and their voices provide a lightness that balances the deep bass and serious lyrics. This is not the heaviest reggae in my stable, by any means, but it is a fun listen to a group with talent. Dean Fraser sits in on sax. Lively up yourself!

Enjoy!