In review--Mali in shades of banjo blue

-

Leni Stern
Sabani
Independent release

I sometimes wonder when the Malian musical star will fade out, but it just grows brighter each year.  With western musicians such as Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder, Corey Hart, Bonnie Raitt and Leni Stern collaborating with Malian musicians, not to mention the prominence of Malian musicians worldwide, the excitement just keeps growing. 

Guitarist-songwriter Leni Stern (German-born), has already lived a musically exciting life that would make any cultural creative proud.  She has collaborated with Peruvians, performed at the Festival of the Desert (Saharan Desert, Mali), and jammed with the stellar lights of Malian music.  And now, she’s released a blues album featuring the n’goni (grandfather of the banjo) performed by herself and Haruna Samake from Salif Keita’s band, with another Keita band member, Mamadou Kone brings percussion to the session.  The result is the haunting Sabani--Malian blues with a feminine twist.

I have a collection of Malian recordings and none of them sounds a like.  Stern’s recording represents a jam session in Salif Keita’s Mouffou Studio in Bamako, with Keita’s bandmates--pretty impressive.  Malian chanteuse Ami Sacko (voice), her husband Buba Sacko (n’goni), and Zoumana Tareta (voice and sokou-bowed instrument) also drop in for a musical visit.  Highlights for me are The Sorcerer (dan sogo) that tells a story, the instrumental The Cat That Stole the Moon that rollicks along with bluesy electric guitar conversing with the n’goni’s cadence, the chilling Like a Thief, and the Malian blues I Was Born (Ibe Keneya).  Take a listen to Ami Sacko’s solo. Papillon features poetry that reflects on the natural world, sung over bouncy n'goni and acoustic guitar.  Actually, the entire album begs for multiple lessons. 

It seems that Mali has planted its feet firmly on the world’s musical map, exploring roots of the distant past, while bringing its music into the contemporary stage and studio.  By now, everyone, including our grandmas, have heard the sounds emanating from the West African nation.  You think this alone would bring us world peace.

http://www.lenistern.com


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to Peyote Songs & The Native American Church

-
Image
Father Peyote: Songs of the Native American Church Introduction to the Peyote Church Ceremony This is an archival article written in 2003.  It's not updated.  For more recent recordings, go to Canyon Records website, http://www.canyonrecords.com When some people speak of Native American ceremonies, the peyote ceremony or the ingestion of the hallucinogen peyote (contains mescaline) usually surfaces. However, there is too much false information being passed around in the non-native community surrounding peyote meetings. The first thing people need to know about the Native American connection to peyote is that the plant is sacred medicine ingested as a sacrament during healing ceremonies of the Native American Church. The second thing, people need to know is that the Native American Church is not a set structure like the Christian Church. The peyote meeting could take place in a Navajo hogan or a teepee. And finally, since the peyote meeting does in part derive from Nat
Read more

The Practice--Treasure Hunt from the book Whole Music

-
Image
Excerpt from Whole Music The Practice: Musical Treasure Hunt Similar to treasure hunts from our childhood, I’m going to send you on a music treasure hunt in which the pleasures are many.  Pretend that you are a song catcher visiting other cultures where you collect new sounds. While I mentioned sound healers earlier, another important player with music preservation are ethnomusicologists who combine cultural anthropology with music preservation.  Two famous song catchers are the late Alan Lomax, and the world beat drummer Mickey Hart.  I recommend learning more about these song catchers through books, and documentaries. 1) Step One-- Head over to YouTube, and look up the following music traditions: ·          Aboriginal Didgeridoo ·          Finnish Runo-Songs (Traditional singer) ·          Gregorian chants ·          Griot Music of Mali (Acoustic, not pop music) ·          Sanskrit Chants Sung by Hindu Indians in Context (aka Kirtans)
Read more

Talking about Timbre

-
Image
Wikipedia As I mention in my book Whole Music , when I was a child I fell in love with timbre and the voices of the individual instruments we listened to in music class.  Each instrument conjured a specific emotions or feeling in me.  The French horn caused me to feel majestic and the cello invoked melancholy.  My moods would shift with each instrument that I heard and my moods would shift quickly. Today, I listen to more than timbre, but I have an understanding of how tone, frequencies of the tone and timbre (the color of the tone) affect me on all levels.  And I wonder what listening to an entire symphony does with its many voices, themes, keys, musical passages etc... In the concept of "whole music" I prefer not to separate musical components, but in the case of this post, I will present solo instruments for your listening and feeling pleasure. If you keep a music journal (and I hope that you do by now), write down the emotions that come up with each instrument.  R
Read more