Kamba Sounds

I've written here before that twenty years ago I accumulated an archive of about 24 hours worth of East African music on 10" tape reels that I finally got around to digitizing a year and a half ago. These records were loaned to me by friends from that part of the world, most of whom have moved on to other cities, and cover a gamut of languages and styles.

Digitizing this material was fairly straightforward, but actually processing, organizing and making sense of the collection has been a daunting task, one that I've pursued in whatever spare time I've had. It's complicated by the fact that the various genres and artists are scattered among the tapes willy-nilly.

Some of the more refreshing of these tracks have been the ones recorded by Kamba musicians. The Akamba, related to the Kikuyu, are said to number about four million and live in the south-central region of Kenya just east of Nairobi (refer to the map on the right; click to enlarge). While contemporary Kamba music is often labeled "Benga" or "Cavacha," it's characterized by its relative simplicity and straightforwardness. Doug Paterson had this to say in World Music: The Rough Guide (Rough Guides, 1994):

. . . Although distinctive melodies distinguish Kamba pop from other styles of benga, there are other special Kamba features. One is the delicate, flowing, merry-go-round-like rythm guitar that underlies many Kamba arrangements. While the primary guitar plays chords in the lower range, the second guitar plays a fast pattern of notes that mesh with the rest of the instrumentation to fill in the holes. This gentle presence is discernible in many of the recordings of the three most famous Kamba groups: The Kalambya Boys & Kalambya Sisters, Peter Mwambi and his Kyanganga Boys and Les Kilimambogo Brothers Band, led, until 1987, by Kakai Kilonzo.

It turns out that I have quite a few tracks by the Kilimambogos, almost none of which are on the two recent compilations Best of Kakai Vol. 1 and Best of Kakai Vol. 2, so you can assume I'll be devoting a future post exclusively to them. Tunes by various other Kamba musicians (most recorded around 1983) add up to about three hours' worth of music, and the ones I'm posting here are a representative sample. If you like these I'll be happy to post more in the future.

Back in the early '80s Kenya was under the sway of the imported Congolese musicians, Virunga, Baba Gaston and the like, and the various Swahili "big bands" like Mlimani Park and the Wanyika groups. Kamba music and the other "vernacular" styles were part of an older, less-sophisticated tradition that had its roots in the '60s and earlier, as described by John Storm Roberts in the liner notes to his compilation Before Benga Vol. 2: The Nairobi Sound (Original Music OMCD 022):

. . .I soon found that this was very much a people's music. The hip young Kenyans moving into government and the professions were uneasy with its reminder of the Swahili-speaking, makeshift past, more happy with the sophistication of Zaïrean music and English-language pop and rock 'n' roll. True, compared with the work of the great names of Kinshasa, the discs cranked out of the scruffy record stores of River Road, down near the country bus station, were simple and sometimes seemed naïvely optimistic. But for the majority of Kenyans whose English was functional at best, they reflected day-to-day life with a plain-man exuberance that was very like their audience: lacking the glamour of West or Central Africa, but in their own way wholly admirable. . .

In this light I regret that I've been unable to find anyone to translate the lyrics of these records for us. I'm sure they would be even more pleasurable if we knew what they were about! As it is there's plenty of wonderful singing and guitar-picking for our musical enjoyment.

The Kalambya Boys, led by Onesmus Musyoki and Joseph Mutaiti, were one of the primary Kamba bands of the 1980s. Unfortunately I have nothing by the naughty Kalambya Sisters, the Boys' female auxiliary, who caused a sensation with their 1983 release "Katelina," but there is a good track by them on the compilation The Nairobi Beat: Kenyan Pop Music Today (Rounder CD 5030). Here are the A & B sides of Utanu UTA 108 by the Kalambya Boys:

Onesmus Musyoki & Kalambya Boys - Katelesa

Onesmus Musyoki & Kalambya Boys - Kyonzi Kya Aka

And here are sides A & B of Utanu UTA 113:

The Kalambya Boys - Eka Nzasu

The Kalambya Boys - Mwendwa Losi

The Kyanganga Boys Band, led by Peter Mwambi, have also been quite popular. Doug Paterson writes that Mwambi's ". . . musically simple, 'pound 'em out,' pulsing-bass drum style may not have enough musical variation to keep non-Kamba speakers interested." Listen to these sides from Boxer BX 018 and judge for yourself:

Peter Mwambi, Charles Mutiso & Kyanganga Boys Band - Beatrice

Peter Mwambi, Charles Mutiso & Kyanganga Boys Band - Mwenyenyo

From Mwambi BIMA 002, here are two sides that Mwambi apparently recorded without the Kyanganga Boys:

Peter Mwambi - Matatu

Peter Mwambi - Mueni

Of course, the Kamba music scene has produced nuemerous other artists, including the Kaiti Brothers, who give us these refreshing tunes (from Kaiti Bro's KAITI 04):

Kaiti Brothers - Ndungata

Kaiti Brothers - Nau Wakwa "J"

The Ngoleni Brothers, led by Dickson Mulwa, a Kalambya Boys alumnus, also produced numerous hits, including these, side A & B of the Ngoleni Brothers Boys single DICK 02:

Professor Dick Mutuku Mulwa & Ngoleni Brothers Band - Kavinda Kakwa

Professor Dick Mutuku Mulwa & Ngoleni Brothers Band - Ngilesi

"Kibushi" was a dance craze imported from Congo/Zaire, the most important exponent of which was the Orchestre Hi-Fives. Here's a Kamba version of Kibushi which doesn't bear much resemblence to the original style. These tracks are the A & B sides of Akamba AS 801. I know nothing of Fadhili Mundi & the Ithanga Brothers, but these are certainly enjoyable tunes, especially the delightful "Wakwa Sabethi."

Fadhili Mundi & Ithanga Brothers - Mzee Tamaa

Fadhili Mundi & Ithanga Brothers - Wakwa Sabethi

Fans of East African 45s know that looking at their colorful labels is almost as much fun as listening to them. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to provide you with scans of these recordings, but KenTanza Vinyl has an excellent gallery for your enjoyment. The picture at the top of this post is entitled "My Neighborhood" and is by a Tanzanian artist named Mkumba. Explore more of his work and that of a number of other excellent East African artists here.

Divided Loyalties

The recent dénouement of the 25-year Tamil insurgency in Sri Lanka was reminiscent in many ways of the end of the Biafran war in Nigeria in January of 1970: both of them were hard-fought popular rebellions that collapsed very suddenly. In both cases the human and economic cost was horrendous.

In its time Biafra was a cause that engaged people the world over in support of its beleaguered people. The proximate reason for the start of the war was a series of pogroms across Northern Nigeria in 1966 directed at natives of the Eastern region of the country, mainly Igbos. In response, Eastern Nigeria, under the leadership of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, seceded as the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967.

Sometime during the course of the war, Nigerian highlife star Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson recorded his song "Odumegwu Ojukwu," commonly known as "Hail Biafra." I'm told that this was released on Onitsha's Nigerphone label, although I have no more information about it. Given its controversial nature, it's not surprising that "Hail Biafra" was more or less banned in the post-war years, and was not on any of Lawson's five "official" Nigerian LPs. The song came to light again in the late 1990s when it was released as part of a compilation entitled Rex Lawson Uncensored: Hail Biafra (Mossiac MMCD 1036).

"Odumegwu Ojukwu" is apparently in Ijaw, so I can't give an exact translation of the lyrics, but in spoken English comments toward the end, Lawson clearly indicates his support for Biafra's Head of State. These sentiments are said to have earned his detention by Federal troops, to whom he is said to have told that he recorded the song "to uplift the rebels." Here's the song:

Rex Lawson - Odumegwu Ojukwu (Hail Biafra)

More interestingly, sometime later Lawson recorded a song in tribute to Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, who not only had led an earlier separatist rebellion in the Niger Delta (the so-called "Twelve-Day Revolution") but died fighting on the Federal side against the Biafran separatists. Boro was an ardent defender of the interests of his Ijaw people, and by some accounts his sentiments toward the Igbo (who predominated in Biafra) were chauvinistic bordering on racist. Such are the dynamics of ethnic politics in southeastern Nigeria! "Major Boro's Sound" was included on the album Rex Lawson's Victories Vol. 2 (Akpola AGB 003) and is also featured on Rex Lawson Uncensored: Hail Biafra:

Rex Lawson - Major Boro's Sound

If there was one thing Rex Lawson wasn't, it was a narrow-minded tribalist. A true cosmopolitan, he had an Ijaw father and and Igbo mother, and his Majors Band (later The Rivers Men) included musicians from various ethnicities. He sang in all of the languages of southeastern Nigeria. Some years ago a fellow named Ofon M. Samson emailed me with English-language summaries of some of the songs on Lawson's LP Love "M" Adure Special (Akpola AGB 002, below). I believe the original songs were all in Efik. In the first of these, "Saturday Sop Di," Lawson sings that he wants Saturday to hurry up and arrive:

Cardinal Rex Lawson & his Rivers Men - Saturday Sop Di

"Abasi Ye Enye" was supposedly written after Lawson had lost a child. He sings, "Whoever killed my child, God will see him or her":

Cardinal Rex Lawson & his Rivers Men - Abasi Ye Enye

"Tom Kiri Site" means "The World is Bad":

Cardinal Rex Lawson & his Rivers Men - Tom Kiri Site

"Ese Ayang Iso" is about a leper, about whom Lawson sings, "ese Ayang iso, kuse ikpat," meaning "look at Ayang's face not her feet because she has a disease":

Cardinal Rex Lawson & his Rivers Men - Ese Ayang Iso

"Akwa Abasi" means "Almighty God." Lawson quotes John 3:16, ". . .For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Cardinal Rex Lawson & his Rivers Men - Akwa Abasi

In "Nkpa Ke Da Owo," Lawson sings about death taking someone away. During the break one of the band members asks, "Death why have you taken our master? Who is going to lead us?." A prescient question, given that Lawson would die in 1971:

Cardinal Rex Lawson & his Rivers Men - Nkpa Ke Da Owo

Another Ethiopian Songstress

If you're a fan of Aster Aweke or Kuku Sebsebe, you'll no doubt enjoy this cassette by Ethiopian vocalist Martha Ashagari.

Ärä Bakeh (Ambassel Music Shop) was released in 1993 shortly after the fall of the Derg, but Ashagari has been singing professionally since 1988 with the Abyssinia and Roha Bands, and during the '90s had her own nightclub in Addis Ababa. In 1996 she recorded the CD Child's Love/Ye-Lij Fiker, which is available online from AIT Records (I included a tune from it on my compilation African Divas Vol. 2).

Ashagari is notable for her unique vocal tone, somewhere between a sob and a wail. Side 1 of Ärä Bakəh typifies the '80s-'90s Ethiopian style, but Martha really hits her stride with side 2 of the cassette, especially the emotional ballads "Zoma" and "Ende Näh" and the Tigrinya song "Sälam Bäluläy."

Martha Ashagari - Ärä Bakeh

Martha Ashagari - Feqer Näw

Martha Ashagari - Alchalkutem

Martha Ashagari - Bämen Yedanyal

Martha Ashagari - Gorded

Martha Ashagari - Dämayle

Martha Ashagari - Zoma (Yäbati lej)

Martha Ashagari - Endäzzihəm Allä

Martha Ashagari - Ende Näh

Martha Ashagari - Sälam Bäluläy (Tigrinya)

Download Ärä Bakeh as a zipped file here. As usual, I'm including a scan of the original cassette inlay card if someone would care to correct my transliteration of the Ge'ez text (click to enlarge):



Update: Thanks to Andreas Wetter for his correction of my transliteration.

Welcome Back, Matt!

We're all thrilled that Matt Yanchyshyn is back on the scene and posting once more on his blog, Benn Loxo du Taccu, after a long hiatus. Of course, Matt's had pressing business - getting married, for one thing. Congratulations, Matt!

So now that Matt is rested and relaxed he's once again making available the great music we've come to expect from Benn Loxo. Do yourself a favor and check out this post of some of the latest tracks from Dakar. Matt is far more cognizant than I of what's going on in the music scene in Senegal, and writes about the current sensation:

. . . Without a doubt the biggest thing going in Dakar these days is Titi. Ask any mbalax fan in Dakar between the age of 16-30 and you’ll usually get a “Titi, j’aime titi,” which admittedly makes me laugh every time for every immature reason. Titi is a hot little mbalax number - a classically tall, thin and beautiful Dakaroise woman - who gets about as much radio play these days as Youssou’s latest Live at Bercy. I think her voice sounds a lot like Michael Jackson in his child-star, Jackson 5 days. . .

It happens that Titi features prominently in Mbeuguel Da Fa Khew Vol. 19, a "pirate" compilation by DJ Fallou & Beug Sa Reuw Productions that I picked up in Little Senegal in New York a couple of months ago. Apart from Youssou N'dour and Viviane most of the artists are unknown to me, but I see they're well represented on YouTube, for instance Pape Thiopet here, also Assane Mboup, Abdou Guite Seck and, of course, Titi herself here, here, and here.

Here then is Mbeuguel Da Fa Khew Vol. 19. It's not generally my policy to post "new" recordings in their entirety on Likembe, but since this is a pirate pressing, I think I can make an exception. . .

Titi - Tayou Mako

Assane Mboup - Aye Beugueunte La

Titi - Love You

Yousou N'dour & Viviane N'dour - Amitie

Pape Thiopet & Ass Seck - Takkal

Khadim Diaw - Moytoulma Dokhou Mbende Bi

Aida Ndiaye (Ndiole) - Diama Noir

Assane Ndiaye - Diamale

Abdou Guitte Seck - Beuss Bi

Gorgui Ndiaye - Yaaye

Youssou N'dour - Sama Gamou

Titi - Music

Youssou N'dour - Niit

Titi - Boulma Taanal

Abdou Guitte Seck - Jangaro

Outro

Some More Seldom-Heard Tracks by Remmy Ongala

Like Comb and Razor, I seem to be experiencing some difficulty managing to get a post up, not, as in Uchenna's case, because I'm terribly busy with anything else, but because of a general sense of ennui. Spring fever perhaps?

Anyway, I've got a few things in the works, but I just realized that it's been more than two weeks since I've posted, so here's something in the nature of a stop-gap.

In one of my first dispatches, I posted five tracks from Remmy Ongala's two 1988 albums On Stage With Remmy Ongala (Ahadi AHDLP 6007) and Nalilia Mwana (Womad WOMAD 010). Which leaves seven tunes that I didn't post, so here they are!

"Tembea Ujionee," from Nalilia Mwana, means "Travel and See For Yourself." Remmy sings, "Travel and see for yourself. Don't wait to be told about it. There are many things to see in the world. Waiting for you. . ." By the way, although the liner notes of the LP credit this song to "Remmy Ongala & Orchestra Super Matimila," I suspect it, along with other songs on Nalilia Mwana, was recorded when Ongala was with Orchestra Makassy. That sounds an awful lot like Mose Fan Fan Se Sengo on lead guitar!

Remmy Ongala & Orchestra Super Matimila - Tembea Ujionee

In "Mnyonge Hana Haki" ("The Poor Have No Rights") Remmy deplores the plight of the unfortunate. "I have nothing to say. . . Remmy is a poor man, an ugly man. Remmy has nothing to say to his companions. A bicycle has nothing to say in front of a motorbike. A motorbike has nothing to say in front of a car. A car has nothing to say in front of a train. The poor have nothing to say in front of the rich. . . The poor have no rights."

Remmy Ongala & Orchestra Super Matimila - Mnyonge Hana Haki

The liner notes of Nalilia Mwana state that "Arusi ya Mwanza" is ". . . about a young woman who is married in Mwanza and goes to live with her husband in Dar es Salaam. After a few days he deserts her and she is too ashamed to return home to face the questions of her parents and neighbors. She warns other women that men are deceitful and will promise a house and car to make girls give up their studies. She herself only wanted to be happy and start a family like her friends. . ."

Remmy Ongala & Orchestra Super Matimila - Arusi ya Mwanza

On Stage With Remmy Ongala unfortunately doesn't provide song translations.

Remmy Ongala & Orchestra Super Matilmila - Sauti ya Mnyonge

Remmy Ongala & Orchestra Super Matimila - Asili ya Muziki

Remmy Ongala & Orchestra Super Matimila - Maisha

Remmy Ongala & Orchestra Super Matimila - Mama Mzazi

If you would like to recreate the original LPs using the other five tunes, the tracklistings are as follows:

Nalilia Mwana (Womad WOMAD 010, 1988)
1. Nalilia Mwana
2. Sika ya Kufa
3. Tembea Ujionee
4. Ndumila Kuwili
5. Mnyonge Hana Haki
6. Arusi ya Mwanza

On Stage With Remmy Ongala (Ahadi AHDLP 6007, 1988)
1. Sauti ya Mnyonge
2. Asili ya Muziki
3. Maisha
4. Kifo
5. Mama Mzazi
6. Narudi Nyumbani

The picture at the top of this post is from this site.

A Fulani Voice

I linked to a video by Senegalese musician Abou Diouba Deh in my last post about Fatou Laobé without realizing that I've had one of his cassettes for some time, and an excellent one it is.

Like Laobé and the well-known Baaba Maal, Abou Diouba Deh is a member of the Fulani ethnic group. The Fulani, traditionally nomadic, have played an outsize role in West African history. From their homeland in the Fouta Tooro region of northern Senegal and southern Mauretania they have spread as far as the Central African Republic and Sudan. The most prominent Fulani in modern history was Usman Dan Fodio, a religious mystic and political reformer who founded the powerful Sokoto Caliphate in the early 19th Century in what is now Northern Nigeria. Numerous other West African leaders are of Fulani descent.

I've been unable to find out much about Abou Diouba Deh, but his cassette Yoo Bele Ndenndu (Tiïtounde) (Talla Diagne), which I post here, is a great example of the popular "neo-traditional" current in Senegalese music, traditional xalaam and percussion brilliantly complemented by the (uncredited) electric guitar. Enjoy!

Abou Diouba Deh - Gidam

Abou Diouba Deh - Ganndo Mayo

Abou Diouba Deh - Uururbe Daakaa

Abou Diouba Deh - Jaaraama Laaba Juude

Abou Diouba Deh - Beeli Seeno

Abou Diouba Deh - Jasar Wuddu Mbodo

Abou Diouba Deh - Taan Seex Aljumaa Bah

Abou Diouba Deh - Teddungal



Here's that YouTube Video. The cars racing by in the background detract a bit from the folkloric mood, I think:

Dakar Divas Pt. 6: Fatou Laobé

Barely known to me until I picked up a few of her CDs in NYC's Little Senegal a few weeks ago, Fatou Laobé is a huge star in Senegal, and a welcome addition to the Dakar Divas pantheon.

Fatou got her start as a backup singer and dancer with musicians like Baaba Maal and Ousmane Hamady Diop, and has toured the world with Youssou N'dour and Abou Diouba. Striking out on her own in 2000, she released l'An 2000 with her group le Laobé Gui on N'dour's Jololi label. The recordings have followed fast and furious ever since. Her music is deeply rooted in the folklore of the Laobé, a subset of the Pulaar, or Fulani, people who are known for their craftsmanship.

The six tunes on offer here are taken from three CDs: Hé Laobé Rewmi (Origines, 2004), Bara Mamadou Lamine (Ekla, 2008), and Keysi Bousso (Ekla, 2008). Enjoy!

Fatou Laobé & le Laobé Gui - Gambia Modou

Fatou Laobé & le Laobé Gui - Gawlo

Fatou Laobé & le Laobé Gui - Bara Mamadou Lamine

Fatou Laobé & le Laobé Gui - Doolé

Fatou Laobé & le Laobé Gui - Lambo

Fatou Laobé & le Laobé Gui - Harouma Play-Boy

Ramiro Naka Ramiro

Since achieving independence from Portugal in 1974, the small west African nation of Guinea-Bissau hasn't been much in the news until recently, when a series of political upheavals, fueled in part by drug trafficking, has brought it to the world's attention.

Bissau's music is also little-known, but Super Mama Djombo and Kaba Mane have achieved some recognition outside the country. Another prolific Bissau artist is Ramiro Gómes Días, better known as Ramiro Naka, or sometimes Naka Ramiro. He was born in 1955 and formed his first band, N'kassa Cobra, sometime around Independence. His disagreements with Bissau's new rulers led him to relocate to Lisbon in 1976, and later to Paris, where he established the Orchestre de Guinea-Bissau, which achieved some distinction in the lively African music scene as the foremost purveyor of Bissau's indigenous Goumbé style.

A series of excellent, if not always well-known recordings has followed, and Naka has also established himself as an actor in the nascent Guinea-Bissau film industry. I hope you will enjoy these selections from his early recording career, all released in the 1980s.

In "Ou Moundou Balas," from his album Je Viens d'Ailleurs (Rá Dya Music DYA 81055, 1983), Ramiro Naka sings in Mandjacque, "The world of singers is considered to be a crazy world. But in my eyes this world is more important than being a king. I will sing about it to the new world":

Ramiro Naka & l'Orchestre de la Guinee-Bissau - Ou Moundou Balas

"Fanta Mané," also from Je Viens d'Ailleurs, is in the Portuguese-based Crioulo language of Guinea-Bissau and the Casamance region of Senegal. It is about a boy who traveled to the town of Farim to meet the beautiful Fanta Mané. In this way he discovered the happiest city in Guinea-Bissau:

Ramiro Naka & l'Orchestre de la Guinee-Bissau - Fanta Mané

"Meu Trabalho," from Bikelia Ma Fiancée (Ramiro Naka RA 81065) expresses Naka's philosophy of life: "I prefer to entertain you so that you can forget life's chimeras. It's impossible to do both at the same time. Earning money is nice, but it is still necessary to do what one wants":

Ramiro Naka & l'Orchestre de la Guinee-Bissau - Meu Trabalho

Also from Bikelia Ma Fiancée. "I never get tired of talking to you about Guinea-Bissau. She is found at the end of the world in a small corner, but she exists all the same":

Ramiro Naka & l'Orchestre de la Guinee-Bissau - M'bin de Lundju

The title track of Bikelia. "You arrived with only one glance and only one smile. You changed my life. For freedom let us remain good friends in happiness and keep trouble far from our marriage":

Ramiro Naka & l'Orchestre de la Guinee-Bissau - Bikelia Kelly



Na Bolon (N'kassa Cobra NK 04880) finds Ramiro Naka reuniting with his old band N'kassa Cobra (who also did at least one recording on their own, 1995's Lundju), and hewing closer to the "mainstream" African sound. Unfortunately, summaries of the lyrics aren't available:

Ramiro Naka & N'kassa Cobra - Na Bolon

Ramiro Naka & N'kassa Cobra - Kara Bacile

Ramiro Naka & N'kassa Cobra - Nha Indimigo



Many thanks to my daughter Aku for translating the liner notes from Je Viens d'Ailleurs and Bikelia Ma Fiancée.

Tilahun Gessesse is Dead

I was saddened to hear of the death Sunday of a true master of Ethiopian music, Tilahun Gessesse, who has been the subject of several posts here at Likembe. The BBC reports:

The popular Ethiopian singer, Tilahun Gessesse, has died at the age of 68. He had been the most dominant figure in Ethiopian music for more than half a century and will receive a state funeral later this week.

Ethiopian radio and television interrupted programmes to broadcast tributes to the singer.

He started performing in the days of the Emperor Haile Selassie, and was for a time the lead singer in his imperial bodyguard band.The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Addis Ababa says that over the years, his plaintive tenor voice sang of love, family and friendship, as well as the more public themes of liberty, unity and justice.

He had been in poor health in recent years because of diabetes.

Ethiopian Media Forum writes:

The legendary Ethiopian singer, Dr. Tilahun Gessesse passed away on Sunday due to a sudden heart attack, EMF confirmed the news from close family sources. Dr. Tilahun has died at the age of 69, just hours after a surprise return from USA with his wife to celebrate the Ethiopian Easter.

His wife, Roman Bezu, said that he passed away while she was taking him to the nearest private hospital. “It was unfortunate that he couldn’t able to get medical assistance as most clinics had no doctors due to the Ethiopian Easter,” Roman added.

Family sources also said that Tilahun will be buried in public funeral scheduled on Wednesday, 22 April, at Holy Trinity Church in Addis Ababa.

Tilahun was attacked on his throat the same day, 16 years ago. Many were surprised by the coincidence. Tilahun had received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Addis Ababa University, in appreciation of his contribution to Ethiopian music.

In honor of this consummate professional, here are three tracks from Tilahun's 1995 release Wegen Alegne (Ethio-Grooves EG- 95-1):

Tilahun Gessesse - Aykedashim Libe

Tilahun Gessesse - Ethiopia

Tilahun Gessesse - Ene Alamaregnem

Many thanks to Andreas Wetter of Ntama Journal of African Music for bringing this sad news to my attention. Andreas also points out that I mis-spelled Tilahun's name in the G'eez script in the graphics in my last two posts concerning him. Sigh! I'll have to go back and correct that at some point.

More Senegal Swag

Aku and I recently returned from a trip out East for Installment Two of the Spring Break College Tour. I'm happy to report that she's been accepted by a number of renowned institutions - the problem now is to figure out how to pay for the school she finally decides on!

Landing in New York of course we had to make a beeline for Little Senegal, for Thiebou Yaap, Diiby, Mafé, and pirated CDs by the armful! To hear some of the music we picked up, scroll down.

After a tour of Fordham University (we checked out NYU & Columbia last year) it was off to Boston, where we had dinner with Uchenna of With Comb & Razor fame at Asmara, an excellent Eritrean restaurant in Cambridge, and toured Boston University the next morning. Suitably impressed, we departed for Montréal and world-renowned McGill University.

Never having been there, my impressions of Québéc have all been second-hand: following the traumatic events of 1970, when martial law was declared in the province; reading Pierre Vallières' White Niggers of America; the subsequent election of the separatist Parti Québécois and the ensuing "language wars." So, I didn't know what to expect. Unfortunately, Aku's French-language skills weren't put to the test - everybody we met was enthusiastically bilingual, and often multi-lingual.

I should have asked the crew at Masala for some travel advice before the trip. I'm sure they could have steered us to the (so I'm told) happenin' Afro/Latin/Caribbean scene in Montréal, but as time was at a premium, we had to content ourselves with wandering the streets around our hotel, mainly in the Vieux Montréal area. Rapidly gentrifying, it still retains a scruffy charm and thankfully hasn't yet been turned into a French-Canadian theme park. Towering cathedrals, funky old architecture and restaurants abound.

You may know that I love good food almost as much as I love good music, and it's apparent that Montréal is a serious food town. French food stars, of course, but just about any cuisine can be found easily. Unfortunately, we didn't get to sample poutine, and we missed out on the legendary Au Pied de Cochon restaurant, but we did follow our guidebook's advice and had a lovely meal at Boris Bistro on rue McGill. I had the Duck Magret with cardamom espresso sauce, and Aku had Duck Risotto, both truly delightful, and reasonably priced as well. Finished off with Tarte Tatin and espresso, it was truly a meal for the ages. The staff couldn't have been nicer, and the manager came over and had a friendly chat with us.

Anybody have any suggestions about what to see, do, eat or hear in Montréal? I definitely want to go back again!
Now to the music we obtained in Little Senegal. I'd wanted to showcase selections from a number of musicians, but one stood out: multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ousmane Diallo, better known as Ouza, is a "musician's musician" who has achieved cult status in Senegal, not only for his fine music but for his socially-conscious lyrics and his run-ins with the authorities. Over the years he has associated with a series of female backup groups - Les Brancheés, Les Ouzettes and Les 4 Femmes dans le Vent, as well as the Ballet Nationale and the Orchestre Nationale du Senegal. He remained mostly unknown outside of Senegal until 2001 & 2002, when two compilation CDs, Ouza & ses Ouzettes 1975-1990 (Popular African Music PAM OA 208) and Best of Ouza (Africa Productions 01028-2) were released.

The tunes I've chosen here well display his unique blend of mbalax, funk, r&b and jazz.

Here are two tracks from 1975-1990. "Guajira," of course, is an old Cuban song, while "Diriyankee," which originally appeared on the cassette Nakhe M'Baye (GDL 001, 1982) addresses the exploitation of African resources by the Western world:

Ouza et ses Ouzettes - Guajira

Ouza et le Nobel - Diriyankee

Best of Ouza features music from the latter part of the maestro's career. "La Sante" originally appeared on the 2000 cassette Le Vote (Origines), while "Tamboulaye" is from Sen Sougnou Sama (Talla Digne), which was issued in 1997:

Ouza - La Sante

Ouza ack Ndiaguamarees - Tamboulaye



Diapason Ouza (Keur Serigne Fall) is a live recording released in 1996:

Ouza - Gouye Gui

Ouza - Xadimo

20 Ans?, about which I've been unable to find any recording information, is also apparently a live recording:

Ouza - SIDA Retro

Ouza - Boul Teury

The picture at the top of this post is taken from Ouza & ses Ouzettes 1975-1990. More Senegal swag in a future post. More non-Senegal music too!