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EthnoBass
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| Cécile
Kaiyrebwa:
Bula Sangoma |
The best known artist from Rwanda, born in 1946. She moved to Belgium in 1983. where she studied traditional African music. She released a serie of cassettes, based at authentic recordings from her cattle loving anchestors. She also joined the band, Bula Sangoma, whish she now performs. |
| Mory Kante:
Rail Band |
Guinean kora
player, started at the balafon. Changed
to kora, and develloped a almost jazzy sound and playing style.
His career started for real in Malian Rail Band with Salif Keita (now international superstar) and Kante Mamfila (another international star). Kante and Keita was rivaling for a while. Kante "snatched" the throne while Keita was abroad. Kante started a rival band, Rail Band International, the main reason for this is that he was not satisfied with the wages in Rail Band. Kante moved to Paris, and started a more techno and disco oriented career. There he brought the Kora out in the world and into the hit charts with "Yeke Yeke" a classic Guinean love song. |
| Salif Keita:
Rail Band Les Ambassadeurs  |
The king in modern Malian music, and
the only beside Mory Kante with major commercial
success outside Mali. A deeply respected singer of the griot's. Keita is
of noble birth, a direct descendant of Sunjata Keita a warrior king and
the founder of Mali 1240. Sunjata was a griot and he founded the tradition
that the griots should be court musicians.
One of the greatest voices in Africa today. His music is mixture of french afro pop, super tight american fusion and soulful emotional ballads about the near things in africa (or maybe anywhere in the world). Started he's carrier in Rail Band where he was the big star, and Mory Kante was second violin. Salif had a short break from this band, he went abroad, and when he came back Kante has taken his throne. Salif went on to the rival band Les Ambassadeurs. He moved to Abidjan, Ivory coast in 1978. He moved on to Paris in 1988, where his main base is today. Being of noble birth and wanting to be a musician wasn't easy for him, he was very ashamed. At his first performances with the Rail Band he sang from the back of the stage, cowering his head with a bath towel. Take a look at Mande cultures and Mali for background info on this subject. Keita contributed at Paul Simons album Graceland, a major break through for African music in the western world. |
| Angelique Kidjo:
TOURING: US, Japan, France, Canada, Italy, Switz. Wed 06/26/02 Winooski, VT Higher Ground
|
Singer from Benim. She
had difficulties with working in the political climate in her homeland,
and moved to Paris in the late 80s. Studied jazz vocals with Joy Kane.
She's a modern artist, working in a field between her roots and modern
(western) music, but still sings in her own language, fon.
Her inspiration is Jimmy Hendrix (she's recorded her own version of the classic Hendrix song Woodoo Chile), Santana, Miriam Makeba, James Brown and Aretha Franklin. In 1998 she recorded an album, Oremi: "The whole idea of Oremi goes back to my childhood. Since I was a little girl I wondered how it could feel to explore the African heritage of American music" she says about this. Angelique Kidjo at Colombia records, Angelique Kidjo Homepage (the old one) |
| King Bruce: | 1922-1998. A trumpeter (in fact a multi-instrumentalist), composer
and band leader in High-life style from Ghana.
Grew up in a musical family, but his parents did not want him to be a musician,
and sent him abroad to study.
But when he returned he started to play high-life music. There he ended up in a high-life big-band, Black Beats, playing a mix of Black African rhythms and swing jazz. |
| King Mensah:
Favaneva |
Singer, actor and storyteller from Togo. Has moved around a lot, but he is now settled in Paris, with his own group Favaneva. His music is a percussive mix of Afrobeat, jazz, jazz-rock and reggae. |
| Ami Koita:
Afrisa International |
A Jelimusolu (a female griot) from Mali, born in 1952. Her songs have deep roots in mande traditions, but she is not afraid of adding new elements as, synthesizers and a Congolese soukous band, Afrisa International. At home she is criticized for this by the conservatives. Anyway, her courage, and her voice speaks for it self. |
| Habib Koite:
Bamada |
A rising star from Mali, rooted in jeli (griot) traditions, but picks up elements from other ethnic groups. His parents did not want him to be a musician, but he ended up as a "singer/songwriter", with social concerning lyrics. Koite formed his own band; Bamada, in 1988. His finger picking guitar is an essential part of the bands sound. He say that this special tecnique is a result of his classical education. |
| Ayinla Kollington: | Ayinla Kollington aka Baba Alatika (father of the masses) (another
pet name is "Fuji man of the people") is born in 1953. He and (Chief
Doctor) Sikiru Ayinde Barrister are the two main characters in Fuji
music
in Nigeria.
In the first two decades of fuji there was a rivalry going on between the two. If one of them added a new drum, the other followed quickly, and maybe topped it with a new horn. This are perhaps part of the reason for the extreme size of a fuji band, 20-30 members. Now fuji is so big in Nigeria that is is plenty of room for both of them. Kollingtons real trademark (and the reason for his pet names) are his sharp, sometimes political, lyrics. |
|
KSA:
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Short form and pet name for King Sunny Ade |
| Fela Anikulapo Kuti:
Femi Kuti  |
"Politician", pianist, saxophonist, trumphetplayer
, vocalist and composer from Nigeria.
Born in Abeokuta in 1938. His family belonged to the Egba branch of the
Yoroba tribe. When he died in 1997 by AIDS in, a million people gathered
around the 3 mile long route, to take good-bye from from one of the greatest
personalities in African music.
His music is off course one important reason of his fame and cult status,
but another is his political engagement. He was a very plainspoken about
the political enjustment in Nigeria.
Fela returned to Lagos in 63, tree years after independence. He formed a band, "Koola Lobitos", playing High life and jazz. He brought this band with him to the US and changed their name to "Fela Ransome Kuti and Nigeria 70". In Los Angeles he was introduced to the philosophy and writing of the Black Panthers, the more militant part of the black movement in US. This made him aware of the links between Black people all over the world. In LA he found inspiration to create his own style Afro-beat a
blend of High life and jazz and other western styles. His political awakening
resulted in a change in singing. He left his original language Yoroba,
and started to sing in Pidgin English, as a symbol of suppression. A language
reaching people outside his own tribe, and outside Nigeria.
The governments started to see him as a dangerous person, and he was arrested, prisoned and even beaten at several occasions. While Fela was away, performing his music, soldier attacked and burned down his home "Kalkuta Republic", his mother was throwed out of the window and died. He changed his name from Ransome Kuti to Aniculapo Kuti - "he who carries death in his pouch" (this could be his way of reaction toward the violent events). Fela also married 27 women in collective ceremony, giving them the name Anikulapo-Kuti. This was a political statement. He formed his own party "Movement of the People", and presented himself as a president candidate first in 79, then in 83. He was naturally prevented from making campaign. Later a coup brought Nigeria into military rules. Fela was prisoned. After 20 months in jail Fela was released, and continued with his music and his political activities. Fela Kuti has been accused of being a racist and sexist. The racist label is natural, most radical black movement activists are accused of the same. The sexist label has maybe something to do with the mas-marriage. Anyway in 86 he divorced them all 27, he then stated "no man has the right to own a woman's vagina". After his death Fela is saluted in his own country, and October is the month of Fela. In 2000 his son Femi Kuti opened a Culture center to remind of him. |
Forward Kwenda:
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Forward Kwenda, the "Coltrane of Mbira" was born a Shona
in 1968(?) in the rural Buhera area in Zimbabwe.
Kwenda is a highly respected musician in Zimbabwe. Among the Shona people
the Mbira is considered as a "telephone
to the spirits".
Kwenda started early with music, he got his Forward nickname because of his curiosity. First he accompanied his mother in her rain-making sessions at the age of 10. When he was 14 he picked up the Mbira, and learned to play it from the radio. The reason for his other nickname, Coltrane of Mbira is mainly because he has taken this traditional instrument a bit further. Like Coltrane he is always looking for new sounds and new approaches towards music. Coltrane was also a spiritual man. For him music was a way to get closer to God. Kwenda is getting closer to his ancestors and his spirits in his music. Both musicians where brilliant, brilliant but humble. "When I pick up my Mbira, I don't know what is going to happen... the music just goes by itself, taking me higher and higher until I can end up crying because the music is so much greater than a human being can understand". CD-review: Svikiro - Meditations From An Mbira Master |
| Ladysmith
Black Mambazo:
Shabalala |
South African Isicathamiya
and Mbule style male vocal group, formed in 1965. The word
Isicathamiya means "to walk or step on one's toes lightly", this refers
to their tiptoe dance. The dance had to be quiet under the apartheid regime.
Mbule means bombing, a reference to the way which the lead vocal dives
through the choruses.
Shabalala, the leader of the group, started singing while he was shepherding his father's cattle. The idea of the band came as a dream to the leader of group. He saw a choir of boys, singing in a strange language. Mr. Shabalala became a christian, some of their songs are jubilee or gospel songs. Ladysmith is the name of their hometown. Mambazo means axes. Shabalala gave this name to the group because he wanted the voices to slice through the audiences like shugar axes. They are proud of their origins, most of their songs ends with the line "Kumnadi kwela kithi emnambihi" which means "it's lovely to come from Ladysmith". Internationally LBM has it's reputation because of the sound and their singing qualities, but by the Zulu people ranks the lyrics at the top. One of the main theme in their songs is mutual understanding between people. LBM have made over 30 recordings, and have collaborated with Paul Simon at the Graceland album with the song "Homeless". |
| Fatou Laobé at Jololi - the rhythms of Senegal | |
| Cheikh Lô: | Senegalese artist born in 1953.
He partly grew up in Burkina Faso. As a grown up musician he had a three
year stay in Paris. Cheikh Lô are a member of the Islam brotherhood
Baye
Fall, built upon the holy men (marabouts).
"We're still soldiers, spiritual soldiers, soldiers of God. We fight with peace, not arms. We're the beck and call of the marabout. We're willing to do anything for them. The marabout brings so many people together, but he does nothing except provide spiritual guidance. So the Baye Fall are there at his side to do all the errands, bring food, goods. Then the marabout distributes these things to poor people." His music are semi acoustic, mbalax based, melancholic pop music, with a jazzy dash of latin rhythms. His lyrics are full of sufi philosophy. Great music! |
| Ismael Lô: | Born in Niger, with Senegalese parents. Lô started as a guitarist
in Super Diamano, a mbalax blues
band, for five years before leaving to start his own solo career.
Ismael Lô can be described as a "singer/songwriter". He is often called the Senegalese Bob Dylan because of his harmonica and guitar combination. Most of his music has a bluesy bittersweet undertone. |
| Baaba
Maal:
Dande Lenol Mansour Seck Afro-Celt Sound System |
Baaba Maal and Youssou N'Dour
are the two big international stars of Senegal.
He is known as The Nightingale. Baaba Maal is born a noble fula(a
nomadic people) in 1953 in the Northern part of Senegal. He was young when
he learned to play the kora. Mr. Maal
went to Paris study Western composition and arrangement, and guitar. There
he performed with his family griot
and friend, the blind Mansour Seck. Back home again they formed the group
Dande Lenol ("the Voice of the People" or to be more accurate, "the Voice
of the Race").
Being a fula are what prevents him from being a superstar at home, the
majority in Senegal are Wolof. Another factor are perhaps his philosophic
way of being.
Dande Lenol are rooted in a fula version of mbalax, the main style in Senegal. Their album "Firin' in Fouta" embedded new stylistic elements and gave birth to the Afro-Celt Sound System. Seck and Maal has an other project going with more traditional styles. More info at the official home site of Baaba Maal. |
| Mahaleo:
Dama Mahaleo David Lindley Henry Kaiser |
A popular "flower power" "folk rock" group, in the 70s at Madagascar. Grew out of admiration of Jacques Brel and Pete Seeger. Their music was western influenced, but also based in local traditions. Now they are not a living band, but they reinforce from time to time. I.e. at the "World out of Time" project, with David Lindley and Henry Kaiser. |
| Mandingo
Griot Society:
Foday Musa Suso Don Cherry |
US based World Crossoverband, with Don Cherry, formed by Senegalese Foday Musa Suso in the 1970s. |
| Mahlathini
and the Mahotella Queens:
Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde Makhona Tsohle Band TOURING: Mahotella Queens: USA Thu 07/11/02 Salt Lake City, UT
Twilight Concert Series
|
Vocal group formed by late Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde (died in 99). Made the groaning mbaqanga or mqashiyo vocals of South Africa famous. Started with traditional weddings songs. The vocal group was backed up by the electric band Makhona Tsohle Band. Mahlathini developed a dramatic stage personality as "Mahlathini The Bull". |
| Kante Mamfila: | Guitar player. He's born a Guinean griot, but moved to Mali. Joined Rail Band and later Les Ambassadeurs. |
| Samba Mapangala:
Orchestre Virunga Ibeba System |
Samba Mapamgala are considered one of the greatest voices
of Eastern Africa. He is born in Zaire (Congo),
lived for two years in Uganda, and moved to Kenya
in 1977. There he formed Orchestre Virunga, a great band. But they had
difficultyes with getting work permit in Keney. The guitar player from
Orchestre Virunga, Sammi Mansita, set up a new band with Samba. Their trademark
was a mix of soukous and African pop
music. But they still had troubles with work permitions and a poor of music
industry
Samba gave up and moved to Paris in mid 90s. There he is recording with state of the art soukous musicians. |
| Thomas Mapfumo:
Blacks Unlimited Jonah Sitwhole TOURING: US & Canada Sat 06/29/02 Taos, NM Taos Solar Music Festival
|
Thomas Mapfumo, born in 1945, known as Mukanya (monkey),
is the creator of the Zimbabwean
style chimurenga. The word chimurenga means struggle, and it refers
to the struggle in the process of freedom fighting. Chimurenga music and
mbira had a significant role in the freedom fighting against the white
Rhodesian people in the 70s.
He started with cover songs from the West. In the 70s he started to write his own music, and to sing in his own language Shona. He and Guitar player Jonah Sitwhole started the Blacks Unlimited in 1978, where they started to experiment with adapting melodies from the Mbira instrument, and Hosho rhythms, to rock instruments. Mapfumo and Sitwhole where old rivals, and they never worked together for a long periode. Sitwhole was replaced several times, but he came back. At a later stage he started to introduce the real Mbira. Nowadays Mapfumo uses three Mbiras as the rhythm section of the band. Chimurenga music are a lot of music styles: African jazz and jive, reggae, rumba, rock, and traditional Zimbabwean music. Zimbabwe won it's freedom. But Mapfumo wasn't satisfied with the new
government.
More info a the Mbira
page, or at the Thomas
Mapfumo pages at anonymusweb.com
|
| "Coco" Mbassi: | We will write an article about Coco soon.
"Coco" Mbassi at Kongoi
Production (her Scandinavian promotor)
|
| Mendez Brothers: | US based Cape Verdian band. Mainly in coladeira style. |
| E. T. Mensa:
Tempos |
Emmanuel Tettey (ET) Mensah, trumpeter, sax player, composer, and bandleader,
"the King of High-life music", is born in Accra, Ghana
in 1919, and died in 1996.
World War II introduced American swing and jazz to African high-life. After WW II started ET in the Tempos, and because of his musical and managing skills he gradually took over control of the band. ET and Tempos became one of the most important high-life bands at the time, touring and selling records in Nigeria and the rest of West Africa. In the 60s Congo rumba and soukous gradually took over the marked, and high-life big bands was hard to maintain. ET had several successful comebacks, in the 70s and the 80s. In his last active years he performed in a wheelchair. |
| Busi Mhlongo: | South African singer and composer with roots in maskanda style, a male only, Zulu tradition. She was the first female singer performing in this style. Started her career in a jive band. She is also a Well established jazz singer with American standard tunes and African Jazz tunes. The album "Urbanzulu", 2000, is a nice example of a modern maskanda style. |
| Oliver
"Tuku" Mtukudzi:
Black Spirits |
Born in 1952, started with music at the age of 10. Former of and front
person in the Zimbabwean band Black Spirits. Creator of his own personal
style Tuku, a blend of mbira pop (chimurenga),
jit, and South African jive styles,
international soul and R&B music like Otis Redding. Another important
ingredience is traditional Shona and other Zimbabwean
music. He means that most of the digital Afropop lacks the original raw
African tone and attitude. "We seem to be running away from something"
Tuku is very danceable music, but Mtukudzi claims his lyrics and message to be the main factor for he's success. He's a "down to earth" person, selling groceries when he's not working with music. He's very concerning about social issues like family life and AIDS. |