Habib Koite & Bamada - 2017.Nov.21 - Mulheim WDR3

Habib Koite 2017.Nov.21 in Mulheim (source: Radio WDR3)

Habib Koite was born in 1958 in Thiès, a Senegalese town situated on the railway line* connecting Dakar to Bamako, where his father worked on the construction of the tracks. Six months after his birth, the Koite family returned to the regional capital of west Mali, Kayes, and then to Bamako. Habib comes from a noble line of Khassonke griots, traditional troubadors who provide wit, wisdom and musical entertainment at social gatherings and special events. Habib grew up surrounded by seventeen brothers and sisters, and developed his unique guitar style accompanying his griot mother. He inherited his passion for music from his paternal grandfather who played the kamele n'goni.
On the insistence of his uncle, who recognized Habib's musical talent, he enrolled at the National Institute of Arts (INA) in Bamako, Mali. In 1978, after only six months, he was made conductor of INA Star, the school's prestigious band. He studied music for four years, graduating in 1982. During his studies, Habib had the opportunity to perform and play with a series of recognized Malian artists, including balafon master Keletigui Diabate and Toumani Diabate. Keletigui Diabate was, till his death in 2012, a fulltime member of Habib's band Bamada.
Habib takes some unique approaches to playing the guitar. He tunes his instrument to the pentatonic scale and plays on open strings as one would on a kamale n'goni. At other times Habib plays music that sounds closer to the blues or flamenco, two styles he studied under Khalilou Traore a veteran of the legendary Afro-Cuban band Maravillas du Mali. Unlike the griots, his singing style is restrained and intimate with varying cadenced rhythms and melodies.
Mali has rich and diverse musical traditions, with many regional variations and styles particular to local cultures. Habib is unique in bringing together different styles, creating a new pan-Malian approach  The predominant style played by Habib is based on the danssa, a popular rhythm from his native city of Keyes. He calls his version danssa doso, a Bambara term he coined that combines the name of the popular rhythm with the word for hunter's music (doso), one of Mali's most powerful and ancient musical traditions.
In 1988, Habib formed his own group, Bamada (nickname for Bamako residents, roughly meaning "in the mouth of the crocodile"), with young Malian musicians who had been friends since childhood. In 1991, Habib won first prize at the Voxpole Festival in Perpignan, France, which earned him enough money to finance the production of two songs. One of those tracks, "Cigarette A Bana (The Cigarette is Finished)" was a hit throughout West Africa. After the release of another successful single, "Nanale (The Swallow),” Habib received the prestigious Radio France International (RFI) Discoveries prize. This award made it possible for the group to undertake their first tour outside of Africa during the summer of 1994.
In 1995 January Habib met Michel De Bock of Contre-Jour, together they recorded Habib's first album Muso Ko, which became one of the year's most popular in the European World Music Charts. From that point forward, Habib became a fixture on the European festival circuit and began to spread his infectious music and high energy shows around the world.
summarized from http://habibkoite.com/index2_uk.php?page=biographie

Personal notes: enjoyed several concerts by Habib Koite & Bamada (with Keletigui Diabate!) in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Later years they didn't perform near where I was living then, so haven't seen them recently, but this concert is making me interested again in seeing them perform. Allas not with Keletigui anymore, as he died in 2012 at the respectable age of 81 years (note the thanks from habib to him in the 2007 bonustrack)
*used that train going from Mali to Senegal in the early 1990s, great memories about that travel!!

Listen to Fiamani (incl.thanks to Keletigui) from the 2007 concert



HABIB KOITE 20171121 - Mulheim WDR3

Habib Koite & Bamada - 2017.Nov.21 - Theater an der Ruhr, Mulheim, Germany
setlist: (DJ intro) / 01.I Mada / 02.Terere / (DJ info and interview) / 03.Muso Ko / 04.Foro Bana / 05.Soo / Habib talks German / 06.LA / (DJ info and interview) / 07.Ntadima* / 08.Pulaku* / 09.Need You / 10.Medley - Wassiye - Cigarette a Bana - Kunfe Ta

line-up: Habib Koite - vocals, guitar / Abdoul Wahab Berhe - bass / Issa Kone - guitar, banjo, vocals / Charly Coulibaly - keyboard, vocals / Mama Kone - percussion, vocals / Mahamadou Kone - barra
bc.2018.Jan.22, WDR3 Konzert Klanglandschaft


BONUS: HABIB KOITE 20070913 - Mulheim WDR3

Habib Koite & Bamada - 2007.Sep.13 - Theater an der Ruhr, Mulheim, Germany
tracks: 1.Ma Ya*(incl.thanks to Keletigui!!) / 2.Nteri*

line-up: Habib Koite - vocals, guitar / Keletigui Diabate - balafon, violin / Abdoul Wahab Berhe - bass / Souleymane Ann - drums / Boubacar Sidibe - guitar, harmonica / Mahamdou Kone - barra
broadcasted as bonus after above concert in same program 

update: *corrections of tracks as commented by Ngoni (to be applied after downloading)

Discography

1995: Muso Ko (CD, Contre-Jour)
1997: Saramaya 2 (K7, Mali K7)
1998: Ma Ya (CD, Contre-Jour/Putumayo)
2001: Baro (CD, Contre-Jour/Putumayo)
2003: Foly! (live CD, Contre-Jour)
2007: Afriki (CD, Cumbancha/Contre-Jour)
2011: Acoustic Africa In Concert - with Bocoum and Mtukudzi ?(CD/DVD,  Contre-Jour)
2012: Brothers In Bamako - with Eric Bibb (CD, Contre-Jour)
2014: Soo (CD, Contre-Jour)

Enjoy the Show, and don't forget: 'Our Globe is Everybody's and the Only One We Have!'

Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba - 2015.May.06 Muhlheim a.d.Ruhr

Some more recent live recording now. I thought I hadn't posted anything from Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba yet. But after having prepared this post, found out that I featured them before together with Tamikrest.

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba (source: theater-an-der-ruhr)

For biography and discography best head over to their entry at Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique and a pre-Ngoni Ba biography written in 2004 at mali-music (archived by web.archive.org).

Listen to a track


KOUYATE BASSEKOU 20150506 - Mulheim ad Ruhr - WDR3

Setlist: 1.Te Dunia Laban / 2.Abé Sumaya / 3.Ayé Sira Bla / interview / 4.Jama Ko / interview / 5.Siran Fen / 6.Poyi / 7.Ngoni Fola / Band Presentation / 8.Waati / 9.Kanjko / 10.Ne Me Fatigue Pas / 11.Tama Jam / 12.Ngoni Jam with Guantanamera

Recorded 2015.May.06, Theater a.d.Ruhr, Muhlheim a.d.Ruhr, Germany
Broadcasted 2015.May.21, German radio, WDR 3 Konzert 20-22hr

NEVER EVER FORGET:

"il faut me pardonner - you must forgive me"

Pap Djah's last words before left on his own in the Sahara desert (in Niger)

Trio Da Kali - 2017.Sep.14 - Wuppertal, Germany

As written earlier today, now on to the last main dish of 2017 in the Land of Mangos. A concert recording by, the MAKERS of THE ALBUM of the YEAR, Trio Da Kali. In the autumn recorded, on their own, in a church in Wuppertal, Germany.

Trio Da Kali - promo picture

Trio Da Kali were in 2012 brought together as a griot 'super-group' by Lucy Duran, on behalf of the Aga Khan Music Initiative (AKMI).
Virtuoso balafon player Lassana Diabate was a long-time member of Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra and has recorded with Salif Keita, Taj Mahal and many others.
Singer Hawa 'Kasse Mady' Diabate is the daughter of Mali's greatest traditional singer, Kasse Mady Diabate, and the power, range and phrasing of her voice led David Harrington (from Kronos Quartet) to compare her to the late queen of American gospel, Mahalia Jackson. "She even looks like Mahalia," Harrington noted.
Ngoni player Mamadou Kouyate is the eldest son of the instrument's greatest exponent, Bassekou Kouyate and also plays with his father in the band Ngoni Ba.
Long term collaborators, the artists aim to bring to the forefront neglected repertoires and performance styles of the griots, celebrating some of the African continent’s finest, most subtle and sublime music.



TRIO-DA-KALI-20170914_Wuppertal WDR3

setlist*: (intro) / 1. / 2. / (talk and interview) / 3.Kanimba / 4. / 5.Ladilikan / (talk and interview) / 6. / 7. / 8. / (outro)
* no setlist given, only sure titles named (additional titles appreciated)
source: broadcast 2017.Dec.28, Radio WDR3
Line-up: Hawa Kasse Mady Diabate - vocals / Lassana Diabate - musical director, balafon / Mamadou Kouyate - bass ngoni

More about Trio Da Kali:

• Trio Da Kali and Kronos Quartet - Eh Ya Ye (videoclip) BRILLIANT!! Let's dance, who cares about the mud!!
• interview Fode Lassana Diabate (video) - he plays his balafon effortlessly, like caressing the wooden keys with his mallets, goosebumps!!
• Review Ladilikan - with Kronos Quartet (2017.Sep.14, The Guardian)
• Interview Trio Da Kali (2017.Oct.20 - The Guardian)

Update 2018.Feb:

• Concert 2018.Jan.21 at Musée du Quai Branly (Paris) available at arte.tv (watchable till 2018.Jul.20)

reminder, please don't never ever forget:

"il faut me pardonner - you must forgive me"