Bluesmen's World(Music)

Majid Bekkas, oud and guembri virtuoso, guitar professor and singer, has long been a star in his home country Morocco. Over the last few years, he has found his way into the European jazz scene through his collaborations with Archie Shepp, Louis Sclavis, Flavio Boltro or Klaus Doldinger. Abdelmajid Bekkas was born and still lives in Salé, Morocco. He studied classical guitar and oud at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Rabat and learnt Gnawa music through the teachings of the master Ba Houmane. Gnawa appeared in the 16th century. During the conquest of Sudan, Ahmed El Mansour Dahbi set up the first trading and cultural links between Timbuktu, near Zagora where Bekkas comes from, and Marrakech.

The secular music is still considered the "healer of souls" from Essaouira to Marrakech, easily
understandable when you listen to the spellbinding sound of Bekkas´ voice, guembri and guitar.
Like a watermark, the mystery of Africa can be felt in the backround, alongside the blues. Gnawa´s intact purity is the essence of the authenticity. By claiming to be part of Africa, the mother of the blues and ist numerous offspring such as funk, Bekkas is placing Gnawa in its primary dimension. By opening the spectrum (including elements of contemporary western music), Bekkas attains a universal status that is nurtured by the path he travelled. These include: jazz, alongside pioneers such as Peter Brötzmann, Archie Shepp, Flavio Boltro, Louis Sclavis.

Bekkas´ openness and ability to balance modernism and memory with a rare talent that knews no compromise, frees the music from the stamp of time. The memory is that of pain and wisdom, of songs that come from the slaves of Africa.

01.African Blues
02.Mrhaba
03.Hamdouchi
04.Youbadi
05.Balini
06.Daymallah
07.Sandiye
08.Galou
09.Soudani Manayou
10.Mawama

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01. Snimbe - Tama (Mali - Guinee Bussau)
02. Sinama Denw - Habib Koite & Bamada (Mali)
03. Awa Y’Okeyi - Papa Wemba (Republique Democratique du Congo
04. N’Dolo - Henri Dikongue (Cameroun)
05. Ancient Voices - Chiwoniso (Zimbabwe)
06. Kounka - Lulendo (Angola)
07. Mariama - Pape et Cheikh (Senegal)
08. Olhos Molhados - Bonga (Angola)
09. Malaso - Regis Gizavo (Madagascar)
10. Dimama - Sally Nyolo (Cameroun)
11. Wanita - Rokia Traore (Mali)
12. Mamy Kha - Rajery (Madagascar)
13. Mame - Senegal Acoustic (Senegal - France)
14. Kothbiro - Ayub Ogada (Kenya)
15. Tapera - Oliver Mtukudzi (Zimbabwe)

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"Since the first volume of this Network Medien series came out in 1995, the whole notion of "Desert Blues" has become more familiar, even to the point where not every song on a double CD like this has to necessarily fit the description (a description that, since first coined, has been open to varied interpretation anyway). All that's really needed are great songs from the Saharan regions, and there are loads of them here. Not a lot of the featured artists were on the first two volumes, so there's a healthy amount of freshness here.

You can start just about anywhere with blow-by-blow descriptions: rootsy rai from Khaled, elegant kora work by Toumani Diabate, rockish excursions courtesy of Tinariwen, etc. If you want a quick summation, the back cover offers one: "Recently discovered finest ballads from Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, Niger, Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Ethiopia." I suppose "finest ballads" does at least as well as "desert blues" in describing the music here, which represents everything from griot tradition to jazz and classical fusion. Actually, as more Saharan artists and countries increase their presence on the global music scene, collections like this will continue to be necessary in keeping up with the work of established stars (Gigi, Oumou Sangare, Habib Koite), newer or lesser-known names (Bako Dagnon, Idrissa Soumaoro) and even non-Africans who successfully get in on the action (Markus James, Kronos Quartet). There's over two hours of superb sounds on this set, the illustrated liner notes are informative and thoughtful, and it's essential listening even if you missed the first two installments."

Disc 1.

01. Djelimandy Tounkara - Fanta
02. Idrissa Soumaoro - M´ba Den
03. Souad Massi - Raoui
04. Khaled - Wahrane, Wahrane
05. Tiris - El Nabi
06. Booubacar Traore & Regis Gizavo - Kanou
07. Markus James - Dream After
08. Bako Dagnon - Lassidan
09. Fula Flute - Keme Bourema
10. Gigi - Bati Bati
11. Cherif M´baw - Baayo
12. Abdouolaye Alhassane Toure
13. Rokia Traore & Kronos Quartett - Bownboï
14. Toumani Diabate & Ali Farka Touri - Ai Ga Bani

Disc 2.

01. Dhafer Youssef - A Kind Of Love
02. Seckou Keita Quartet - Tounga
03. Ali Farka Toure - Penda Yoro
04. Boubacar Traore - Kar Kar
05. Malouma - Yarab
06. Bassekou Kouyate & Lobi - Traore Banani
07. Abdallah Ag Oumbadougou - Imidiwan
08. N´gou Bagayoko - Kulu
09. Tinariwen - Izarharh Tenere
10. Oumou Sangare - Djorolen
11. Habib Koite - Mali Ba
12. Amadou & Mariam - Ce N´est Pas Bon
13. Getatchew Mekurya - Eywat Sstenfegagn
14. Gigi - Ethiopia

CD 1.
CD 2.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo was founded by Joseph Shabalala in 1974. They've cut well over 30 albums since, but the group did not become well known outside of South Africa until Paul Simon asked them to perform on Graceland. Shabalala was born into a poor family that lived on a white man's farm near the town of Ladysmith. There were eight children in the Shabalala family, and, as the oldest boy, it was Joseph's duty to take care of the family after his father died.

Shabalala's first musical experience, save for a bit of fooling around on the guitar, came with a choral group called the Blacks. Shabalala eventually took over leadership of the group and became its main composer. The Blacks won most of the local vocal competitions and became the most popular Zulu vocal group, but Shabalala felt that something was missing. "I had been hearing a voice inside me," Shabalala said. "I didn't know it, but it was the voice of God." When the voice told him to fast, Shabalala obeyed, and on his fast, he had a vision of a new kind of vocal music. Shortly thereafter he became a Christian. Taking the choral music he heard in the Christian church, he combined it with the Zulu tradition to create his own style.

When the Blacks refused to take part in Shabalala's experiments, he formed Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The group consists of seven bass voices, an alto, a tenor, and Shabalala singing lead. The combo immediately began releasing albums at a staggering rate, offering a massive catalog of vocal music. Even if you don't speak Zulu, when they hit a low rumbling note, you can literally feel the power of their voices in your body.

"In Zulu singing there are three major sounds," Shabalala explains. "A high keening ululation; a grunting, puffing sound that we make when we stomp our feet; and a certain way of singing melody. Before Black Mambazo you didn't hear these three sounds in the same songs. So it is new to combine them, although it is still done in a traditional style. We are just asking God to allow us to polish it, to help keep our voices in order so we can praise Him and uplift the people."

01. Homeless
02. Hello My Baby
03. Kangivumanga (I Disagreed)
04. Lelilungelo Elakho
05. Nomathemba
06. Nkosi Yamakhosi
07. Sisesiqhingini
08. Zithi Nqonqonqo
09. Liph’ Iqiniso
10. Inhlelemtombi
11. Nansi Imali
12. Izinto Ziyavuma
13. Uthando Olungaka
14. Zintombi
15. Awu Wemadoda
16. Vulani Amasango
17. Yanda Yabeletha
18. Akehlulek’ubaba (With God Everything Is Possible)

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This 19-song compilation features a wide variety of artists from this small but influential island off the Senegalese coast. Opening with Cesaria Evora and an early tune, "Papa Joachim Paris," the album visits luminaries like Simentera, Paulino Vieira, and Tito Paris and introduces you to many less famous but deserving names. Real roots come from the Mindel Band with a raw violin and a perpetual groove. Luis Morais's band is jazzy and fun. Voz de Cabo Verde are sweet and homey. The album closes with a live, lush, yet ragged "Lundum" by Vieira and Celina Pereira, a perfect island tune of slight melody and lots of feeling.

01. Papa Joachin Paris - Cesaria Evora
02. Miss Perfumado - Humbertona & Piuna
03. Falso Testemunho - Maria Alice
04. Partida - Djosinha
05. Boas Festas - Luis Morais
06. Otilia/Otilio - Tito Paris
07. O Bernard' - Ana Firmino & Travadinha
08. Pais Di Mel - Teofilo Chantre
09. Situacoes Triangulares - Bau
10. Fidjo Maguado - Chico Serra
11. Sina De Cabo Verde - Bana
12. Galo Bedjo - Titina
13. Cercode - Mindel Band
14. Dia C'Tchuva Bem - Simentera
15. Carinha Di Bo Mae - Voz De Cabo Verde
16. Serpentina - Bana
17. Cutch Cutch - Amandio Cabral
18. Saude - Celina Pereira
19. Lundum - Celina Pereira & Paulino Vieira

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"One of the earlier entries on the market of African blues-inflected music offerings, this album from the folks at Rough Guide is most certainly African, but not particularly fusion in the sense of incorporating the American blues idiom. What one does have here, though, is a relatively early collection of the people that would in large be the most notable figures on the field of African music on the greater world market. Ismaël Lo opens up the album, followed by Rokia Traoré. After a couple of East African entries, the first true blues piece comes courtesy of Ali Farka Toure's hit "Heygana." The great mbira player Stella Chiweshe makes an appearance, as does Hamza el Din, with some bluesy riffs on the oud from the North. Boubacar Traoré puts in the second entirely valid piece of American-esque blues, and the team of Kante Manfila and Balla et Ses Balladins present an excerpt of the Kankan Blues phenomenon. Finishing the album are two more notables: Cape Verde's Césaria Évora, and Mali's up and coming Oumou Sangare, both worth hearing in their own right. Throughout, the album strays a bit from its most apparent mission, but the music remains worthwhile regardless. A fine choice for a quick sampler of the bigger names in African music."

01. Ismael Lo (Senegal) - Talibe
02. Rokia Traore (Mali) - Mounaissa
03. Orchestra Marrabenta Star de Mocambique - A Va Safy Va Lomo
04. Super Rail Band (Mali) - Mansa
05. Balla et ses Balladins (Guinea) - Paulette
06. Alick Nkhata (Zambia) - Maggie
07. Henry Makobi (Kenya) - Omulanga Wamuka
08. Ali Farka Roure (Mali) - Heygana
09. Stella Rambisai Chiweshe (Zimbabwe) - Ndinderere
10. Hamza El Din (Egypt) - Shams Esh'shamusa
11. Antoine Moundanda Likembe Geant (Congo) - N'Sangou
12. Boubacar Traore (Mali) - Mouso Teke Soma Ye
13. Kante Manfila and Ball Kalla (Guinea) - Kankan Blues (extract)
14. Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde) - Miss Perfumado (live)
15. Oumou Sangare (Mali) - Saa Magni

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