Mali Comes to Somerville Part 3: Salif Keita

Rounding out the World Music concert season was Salif Keita at the Somerville Theatre on June 17.  He had played at the Festival in the Desert in Mali in 2009 on Thursday night, but we hadn't arrived at the festival until Friday. We did, however, see him eating breakfast at our hotel in Timbuktu on Friday morning before heading off to Essakane. Our guide Bahini and the waitstaff were all quite excited, and said that he was the most popular singer in Mali.

Salif Keita is of royal lineage, but because he is an albino, was an outcast and wound up making music (a profession that is usually reserved for the griot caste). There are many superstitions in Africa about albinos, and they are discriminated against and sometimes even killed so that their body parts can be used by witch doctors. The Salif Keita Global Foundation works to educate the public and protect the rights of albinos.

The concert was great. He had two female backup singers who danced their way through the show. There was a kora player who did a Hendrix-esque solo while writhing around on his back on the floor. There were three percussionists, a bassist, and two guitarists. Salif Keita's voice soared over the instruments, and Malian audience members in traditional dress walked onstage to shower him with dollar bills, drape the Malian flag over his shoulder, or just shake his hand. By the end of the night just about everyone was dancing, either onstage, in the aisles, or at their seats.

The Malians in the crowd were noticeably proud, and with good reason. It was a wonderful night.

Watch Video Montage (4:34)

Mali Comes to Somerville Part 2: Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba

What better way to follow up last Saturday's Habib Koité concert than with a performance by another group that we saw at the 2009 Festival au Desert in Mali: Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba.The ngoni is a 4-stringed lute made of wood and cow hide which dates back to the 1300's, and it is traditionally played sitting down. Bassekou's father and grandfather played it in this traditional way, but interest in the ngoni was waning as the electric guitar gained prominence in Malian music. Bassekou started a trend when at a legendary performance in 1985, he fitted his ngoni with a guitar strap and played standing up and taking center stage for his solos. This went over very well, and Bassekou set about forming Ngoni Ba, a band which featured four ngonis and two percussionists, with the vocal stylings of his wife Amy Sacko.

Bassekou and the band capped off the Friday night concert at the Festival au Desert in Essakane, Mali in 2009. This was the first we had heard of them and they totally blew us away with their energetic performance. When we heard that they would be playing their Boston area debut at the Somerville Theatre, we knew we had to be there.

The band consists of Bassekou Kouyate on lead ngoni, Fousseyni Kouyate on medium bass ngoni, Barou Kouyate on ngoni, Moussa Bah on bass ngoni, Amy Sacko on lead vocals, Alou Coulibaly on calabash, and Moussa Sissoko on percussion. From the first song, Bassekou showed off his talents playing some amazing solos. He could make his instrument sound like a '50's-style hollow body guitar, a banjo, or a dobro. He even used a wah-wah pedal at times to fully modernize the ngoni. At one point the band left the stage and he sat down in a chair and played an extremely bluesy song that reminded me of the old-time Delta bluesmen.

The band was incredibly energetic, with the percussionists jumping and kicking their way through the jamming songs. Amy Sacko's vocals were beautiful, and she was a mesmerizing dancer. At times her soaring vocals totally evoked memories of Timbuktu. They recognized a Malian singer in the audience and called her up onstage during one of the songs. Unfortunately we didn't catch her name (Bassekou's self-consciousness about his English led him to speak to the crowd in French and Bambara at times) but she was amazing as well, taking the stage and hugging Bassekou and Amy.

Two local musicians also joined the band onstage for a number, playing bass and guitar. It was fun to watch the interplay between the female bass player and the bass ngoni players while she played a solo. When the guitar player had his solo, Bassekou took him by the shoulders and dragged him up to the front of the stage. As soon as he let go, however, the guitarist immediately started stepping backwards.

The crowd loved every minute of the nearly two hour performance, and clapped along as the band tore through a very engaging set. Audience members danced in the aisles and walked up to the stage to shower the performers with dollar bills, a traditional way of showing one's appreciation in Mali.

It was wonderful to be able to see them in an intimate setting. In Essakane we had enjoyed their music from the dunes but never got a close enough look. We were in the second row of the mezzanine last night and had a prime location for watching every nuance of the performance.

After the show, we went to the merchandise table. We had bought a copy of their first release, Segu Blue, at the Festival, but it appeared to be a CD-R with computer printout artwork. We have listened to it quite a bit, and when we saw that the official U.S. release was available, along with their new album I Speak Fula, together for $30, we bought both of them. Bassekou came out to sign CD's, and Craig spoke briefly with his manager, telling him that we saw them perform at the Festival last year. "Tell him that! He played the Festival this year as well. He plays it most years." The manager then got Bassekou's attention and he told him "They saw you at the Festival!" "Essakane," I said. "ESSAKANE!" Bassekou said excitedly and he looked at us with a big smile. He signed our new CD's and I asked if we could get a photo with him. He happily agreed. It took a moment for me to find someone and show them how to use the camera, but the moment we were ready he gave us his full attention, put his arms around our shoulders, and gave a big smile for the camera.

We thoroughly enjoyed our evening of Malian music, harkening back to our experience of  listening to the band in the Sahara Desert sitting on a sand dune under a full moon. We felt that their Boston area debut was a big success, and we look forward to next time!

Watch Video Montage (4:27)

Mali Comes to Somerville - Habib Koité & Bamada

Last night Habib Koité and Bamada played at the Somerville Theatre. We had great seats in the second row balcony center. It was an excellent show. Habib Koité is an excellent front man, singing, playing lead guitar and flute, and occasionally dancing. The band was very tight and they have boundless energy. Fassery Diabate (who played balafon - a type of Malian xylophone) and Mahamadou Koné (who played percussion including an amazing talking drum) were particularly fun to watch as they rocked out on their respective instruments. Band members would walk out into the audience and bring women up in the stage to dance. They played songs from their latest album "Afriki" as well as other songs from their 22 year history together. The show culminated with people dancing and clapping to their hit single from the early '90's "Cigarette A Bana."

We first saw them play at the Festival au Desert in Essakane, Mali in January 2009. We saw them locally at Somerville Theatre in April of 2009, and were so blown away by their performance that we just had to see them again.

Once again we were able to speak with Habib as he autographed CD's after the show. I mentioned that we had seen him at Essakane last year. He immediately perked up and gave us his full attention. I asked how the Festival was this year, since it was moved from Essakane to Timbuktu. "It was great!" he said enthusiastically. "People think it was in Timbuktu, but it was kilometers outside." He said that it was significantly away from the city, and that it felt like you could have been in Essakane after all.

We were interested to hear his perspective, as we had heard mixed reviews of the new location, in the press and from friends in Mali. The Festival had been moved due to security concerns, and some people had said that having it within 10 minutes of Timbuktu meant that people were able to stay in hotels, whereas in the desert everyone slept in tents pitched on sand dunes. People had to make a concerted effort to get to Essakane, and once you were there you were there for the duration. Some folks felt that this year it didn't quite live up to its reputation as the most remote music festival in the world (though that's not to say that Timbuktu itself isn't remote!) So it was good to hear Habib's take on it, and we were glad that he still considered it a big success.

Once again, Habib Koité and Bamada put on an excellent show at the Somerville Theatre. Catch them if you can!

Watch Video Montage (2:39)

Corey Harris and the 5x5 Band At Regattabar

We have been wanting to see Corey Harris in concert ever since we saw him perform a song with Henry Butler  at the 2001 Handy Awards in Memphis.  But whenever he has played in the area, we have been either out of town or had previous commitments. So when we heard that he was playing at the Regattabar, we were very excited. Craig and I arrived at the venue at around 7 o’clock for the 7:30 show. We were the first ones there and were seated at a front-row table about 5 feet in front of Corey Harris’ microphone. We knew we were in for a great night of entertainment, but we were hoping for the band’s sake that more of a crowd showed up.

More people did arrive, and there were probably about 50 or 60 people by the time they hit the stage. Craig and I were the only two seated at a four-person table, so there was plenty of room to sit comfortably. Corey and the 5x5 Band took the stage soon after 7:30. The band consisted of Corey on guitar, Ken Joseph from Trinidad on the drums,  Ralph DuJour on  bass, Gordon Jones on the sax, and Chris “Peanut” Whitley on keys and piano.

As they launched into their first tune, Craig immediately  recognized it as Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. It was a nice jazzy instrumental treatment. Then Corey took the mic as they launched into a medley of songs from the albums Downhome Sophisticate and blu.black.  Backlash was a standout. The band got into a groove immediately and blurred the lines between blues, reggae, and jazz. Brand new songs mingled with classic traditional fare like Catfish Blues.  Having such a great seat in such a small crowd was awesome because we could fully make eye contact with the band as they played. They were clearly enjoying themselves and seemed glad that the audience was having fun as well. The crowd wasn’t huge, but they sure were attentive.

Corey explained that Sista Rose was written for a an old girlfriend in Cameroon. He performed Mami Wata with a poetry slam feel. They also played a couple of other selections from Daily Bread, including the title track and Got to Be a Better Way.

Song after song was familiar to us. The band eventually took a break and Corey switched to his acoustic guitar. He sat down (once again 5 feet in front of us) and started to play. He played a song that he said he just recently wrote about Paul Bogle, a Jamaican revolutionary from the Morant Bay Rebellion . He then introduced Skip James’ Special Rider Blues by saying that he recorded it in Niafunke, Mali with Ali Farka Toure. It was a great little acoustic set.

Then the band came back and played a few more tunes. They finished up the night with Corey calling an audible for Sweatshop.  They finished at around 9:15, perfect for a weeknight show. We got to speak with Corey and talked to him a little bit about Mali. Craig apologized for the low turn-out and Corey said “Hey, not your fault. You did your part!” He signed our discs and we got a photo with him. We then spoke to Peanut and had him sign a disc for us as well (blu.black, which he produced). He was happy that we already owned the disc (which they were selling at the show) and had had a chance to hear it. He told us that they worked really hard on the album and that it took them several months to make it; that they would work on one song for a week at a time just to get it perfect. Craig said that we loved that they opened with Redemption Song and Peanut laughed. He said that they did that “to mess with people’s minds because we look like a reggae band and we wanted to have fun and challenge people’s expectations.” They did indeed look like a reggae band, three of them were sporting long dreads, and Corey’s were tucked up into a tall hat.  He’s a tall guy to begin with, but this made him look even taller.

Everyone we spoke to was incredibly nice, and really gracious. They really took the time to talk with us. On our way out we saw the drummer, Ken Joseph, sitting at a table. He had really noticed Craig grooving in the audience, and asked if he plays drums. He told Craig that “he has the hair for it”  (pointing to his own bald head). He shook our hands and said that sometimes they really prefer to play for smaller crowds than in giant halls. He thanked us for coming out and invited us to head down to the Narrows in Fall River on Saturday night to see them again.

If you are a music fan into blues jazz, or reggae, GO SEE THIS SHOW. You will not be disappointed. We were absolutely blown away.

Our new godchild Eddy Humberto

We recently visited Guatemala for the baptism of our second godchild, Eddy Humberto. It was wonderful to once again visit our dear friends Humberto and Paulina and their lovely family - daughters Vanesa, Paola, Yasmin, Yoselin, our goddaughter Aracely,  baby Eddy, and their cousin Rocio. They always treat us like family, and this was our fifth time visiting the family and staying at their home.

 

 Godparents and godchild

 Humberto, Craig, Eddy, Steph, and Paulina

 

The family at Eddy's baptism

  

Eddy on baptism day

Although the new school year usually starts in mid-January, it was delayed this year due to teacher contract negotiations. So the girls were around all day on weekdays as well, which was very nice for us. When we last visited in July, Eddy only had two teeth, and wasn't yet able to walk. But this time he was fully walking (and running) on his own, with a smile full of new teeth. And of course the girls have grown, also. Little Aracely is now as old as Yoselin was on our first visit. And the older girls now help Humberto to run his office. We are very proud of all of the kids. They are growing up before our eyes!

Paola, Steph, Aracely, Yasmin, Rocio, Craig, Yoselin, Vanesa, and Eddy

We like to bring small gifts for the children. On our last visit, the card game Uno was a big hit (the directions are easy to explain even in our broken Spanish). This time we brought Jenga, which was very well received. In addition to playing by the rules, they also used the wooden pieces as building blocks and dominoes. It provided for days of fun for young and old.

Playing Jenga! Craig, Yasmin, Vanesa, and Paulina

We went on numerous walks with the family, watching sunset over the volcano-ringed Lake Atitlan, and buying street-vendor churrascos for dinner. We went to the market with Paulina to buy the day's fresh food, and took a tuk-tuk home with the groceries. Our camera suffered an accident on the first night as I dropped it, which rendered its flash inoperable. So we  had the challenge of replacing it in Panajachel, being completely unprepared. We settled on a Canon PowerShot at Quick Photo on Santander Street. It took double A batteries and SD memory cards, so it would be compatible with easily available batteries and media. Of course, Quick Photo didn't sell SD cards, so we wound up buying those at the Fuji store. The new camera worked very nicely, and didn't have the 20-second video limitation of the previous camera. So everything worked out, and we got higher resolution photos and video during the remainder of the trip.

Vanesa and Paola - sunset at Lake Atitlan

Yasmin and Eddy

Eddy's baptism took place on Sunday January 24 at Iglesia de San Francisco in Panajachel. It was a very nice service. Eddy was dressed in an adorable little white suit with bow tie and pocket square. We walked home from church and then gathered with Humberto and Paulina's extended family at their nephew's restaurant, Restaurant Cafeteria Yulex. We had a lovely breakfast of huevos rancheros and black beans, and then later we had a delicious lunch of traditional pulique soup with chicken served with tomalitos. We had had this before at Aracely's baptism. It was a wonderful day, and we spent time playing with the kids' cousins, Loren, Laisa, and Yesmy, whom we had met in 2008. We got to spend time with Paulina's father and sisters Olga, Isabela, and Estela, their brother Carlos and his wife Vilma. We visited with Humberto's mother and his sister Juana. They are all so kind to us and treat us as part of the family.

Humberto, Eddy, and Paulina's father

Neli, Aracely, and Yesmy

  

Craig and Laisa

 

Cousins Loren and Aracely

On Tuesday, when it was time for us to leave, all of the kids begged to be able to accompany us on the 3 hour van ride to Guatemala City. Humberto was giving a tour that day, but Paulina agreed to accompany all of the kids (including cousin Rocio) on the ride. It was so sweet of all of them, especially given that the younger kids get car sick when riding on the windy mountain roads. But they all wanted to be able to spend those final hours with us before we headed back home.  After dropping us at the airport, they enjoyed lunch at Pollo Campero (a popular Guatemala chain of fried chicken restaurants) and then took the 3 hour drive back home. Now that's love!

 

 

 Aracely and Craig

 

 Eddy

 

Churrasco on Calle Santander

Paola and Eddy

Yoselin and Yasmin

 

Rocio and Vanesa