Balimaya Project at Barbican Centre

Balimaya Project
Barbican Centre, Main Hall
When The Dust Settles
London
October 17, 2023

Founded in 2019 by London-based djembe player Yahael Camara-Onono, the eighteen-piece Balimaya Project is an all-male ensemble dedicated to celebrating its members' African musical heritages, which it approaches as evolving, future-facing entities. The band blends West African traditional music—with a special emphasis on Mandé culture—with jazz and other sounds of Black Britain. It released its second album, When The Dust Settles (New Soil), in summer 2023 and the disc's resequenced track listing was the backbone of tonight's slow-to-rev-up but ultimately thrilling two-hour performance.

The line-up—nine percussionists, four horn players, three guitarists, a keyboardist and a kora player—was augmented by a string sextet, two female dancers and guest singers/performance poets Afronaut Zu and Obongjayar (on "For Aziz" and "Red Oil" respectively). There was also a surprise guest appearance by the tenor saxophonist Nubya Garcia (on "Anka Tulon").

The first half of the programme was at times more like an academic exercise than a performance, aside from the high-impact appearances by Afronaut Zu and Obongjayar. There was a guitar showcase for brothers Godwin Sonzi and Gladness Sonzi, which brought to mind memories of Senegal's glorious Orchestra Baobab and Guinea's equally sublime Bembeya Jazz. Kora player Jali Bakary Konteh, a direct descendant of the legendary Alhaji Bai Konte, was also given an on-the-money feature. It was all good yet somehow the flame never quite caught. But wait...

An inferno erupted about midway through the programme, with the first of four exponential leaps in temperature. First, Onono and the eight other drummers and percussionists engaged in an extended bout of off-the-dial sonic shamanism. WHOOSH! Then the horns had their moment, with alto saxophonist Xhosa Cole, tenor saxophonist Jaz Lee, trumpeter Elias Jordan Atkinson and trombonist Nathaniel Cross (brother of the late Sons of Kemet's tuba player Theon Cross) conjuring up the rifftastic ferocity of Afrika 70. WHOOSH! Next, dancers Aida Diop and Oumy Mbaye, entering from the back of the stalls and making their spotlit paths down the gangways to the stage, gave a thrilling exhibition of Mandinke ritual dancing, knees jumping almost chest high, outstretched arms pumping up and down, all impossibly fast (it should be an Olympic sport). WHOOSH! Finally, when it seemed the energy level could not get any higher, Nubya Garcia was announced, coming on to deliver a solo of controlled but blazing intensity, the band in full romp behind her. WHOOSH! Garcia is making herself felt on London's main concert stages in autumn 2023. In September she was at the Royal Festival Hall with the Nu Civilisation Orchestra performing the Stan Getz / Eddie Sauter album Focus (Verve, 1962), creating her own toplines rather than resurrecting those of Getz. She returns to the Barbican in November with the star-studded London Brew, performing that band's eponymous 2023 album. No sign yet though of the follow-up to Garcia's own-name full-length album debut, Source (Concord, 2020). Going home and playing Source right after tonight's gig was non-negotiable. Somehow the disc sounds even better today than it did on the first hit.

Such a night. Onono is the 2022/23 Artist-In-Residence at the Barbican Centre's associate concert hall, Milton Court. His was an adventurous appointment and this concert confirmed it was a good one.

Programme

A Prayer For Our Parents; Bé Mankan; For Azia; Red Oil; When The Dust Settles; Suley's Ablution; There's Nothing Left For Us Here; Soninka; Anka Tulon; Seasons Of Baraka.

Personnel

Yahael Camara Onono: lead djembe, atoumblan, barra, calebasse; Adeegun Crispin Robinson: congas, bata; Skanda Sabbagh: sangban set; Aboubacar Konate: dounoun superposé, barra; Mohamed Sangare: kenkeni set; Triston Dubison: drums; Michael Olayinka: talking drums; Jordan: talking drums: Elijah: talking drums; Godwin Sonzi: electric guitar, acoustic guitar; Gladness Sonzi: accompaniment guitar; Jali Bakary Konteh: kora; Jonathan Monga Moko: electric bass, double bass; Jamal Wilson: keyboard, synth, grand piano; Xhosa Cole: alto saxophone, flute; Jaz Lee: tenor saxophone; Elias Jordan Atkinson: trumpet, flugelhorn; Nathaniel Cross: trombone; Evie Coplan: cello; Elliot Bailey: cello; Jess Meakin: violin; Rebekah Reid: violin; Nicola Hicks: viola; Georgia Russell: viola; Salif Camara: dancer; Oumy Mbaye: dancer. Guest artists: Afronaught Zu, Obongjayar, Nubya Garcia.