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Compilations: Mali, Ghana, Nigeria

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The whole scene used to be more obscure. It took a long time for most African artists to gain recognition outside their home turf. With time, attention from the recording industry, and an explosive expansion in general interest, Western listeners have come to appreciate the incredible diversity of styles from the continent. Certain African musicians have even become international stars—Youssou N'Dour, for example, has a massive following in Europe and a respectable audience in the US.

With all this expansion and transformation comes a certain amount of bewilderment among novice listeners. Where to start? How to know which musicians or styles will be the most exciting? Those are hard questions, and without investing a lot of time and cash they can be hard to answer.

That's where this month's collection of music comes in. Each one represents a sampler of many recordings, a way to peek into many worlds all at once. The first, from Malian blues veteran Boubacar Traoré, encapsulates many high points from throughout his career. (The artist personally chose these tracks, which is a real bonus.)

The next disc focuses on Nigerian highlife—easy, uplifting music—with special focus on the most influential artists in the genre. These tracks were culled from Nigeria's own Permier Music. Finally, a collection of '70s music from Ghana delves into all the nooks and crannies that developed when highlife morphed into a thousand flavors of funk and jam. This disc offers the greatest diversity of sounds and brings a number of obscure artists to light.

Boubacar Traoré
Best of Boubacar Traoré
Wrasse Records
2003

To the extent that bluesmen from Mali have reached worldwide prominence, the leader of the pack is Ali Farka Toure. Partly as a result of his Ry Cooder collaboration Talking Timbuktu, he has attracted a surprisingly large audience.

But close behind is Boubacar Traoré, who was a big radio star in Mali in the '60s. A number of starts and stops in his career (related to family, money, and travel) derailed him along the way, but in 1994 he finally made his first recording. Mariama drew attention to his understated lyricism, and within the next decade four more records followed. Now 61 years old, Traoré has begun to receive the attention he deserves. And thus this compilation, a well-paved road into the master's music.

Like most West African string players, Traoré finds himself deeply rooted in the music of the kora, a harp-like instrument which has been at the center of the region's musical tradition for centuries. It's curious to hear how he adapts the open tonalities of that instrument to his guitar and the blues. The opener, "Bebe Bo Nadero," relies mostly on vocals to maintain its simmering energy. Traoré has that rare sixth sense found only in veteran blues players, knowing how to milk the most emotion out of simple phrases. A few earthy vocal harmonies and some light percussion round out the piece.

One of the songs that made Traoré a national radio star in the '60s was "Mali Twist," borrowed here from a sampler that was never released. Its busy, detailed stop-and-start guitar underpinnings follow a regular cycle and transform the piece into a virtual chant. That makes some sense. "Macire," which comes next, has a strong roadside blues flavor. The unison violin notes that emphasize the melody smoothen out the more rugged tone of Traoré's guitar and voice.

As listeners become more familiar with this material, they will come to understand that the blues convention of the 12-bar form is but one way of getting to its heart. Boubacar Traoré might not follow this American formula, but he has no trouble communicating the deepest essence of the blues. And that's not a common thing in this small world of ours.



Various Artists
The Kings of Highlife
Wrasse Records
2003

Around the time highlife was born in West Africa, horns were fading out and the guitar was assuming their place as the most popular lead instrument. The earliest highlife was a variation on the big band concept, with an enlarged rhythm section and brief instrumental solos spaced between well-harmonized themes and vocal passages.

As time went on, the genre diversified and went through many changes. This compilation does a nice job of representing some of the biggest names from these phases of Nigerian highlife, each with his own approach to the music. It comes to us from Lagos's Premier Music label via Wrasse Records (UK). A long road indeed for these Kings.

Remember that this is popular music, dance music, not the kind where instrumentalists travel long roads through many changes of key. Highlife keeps it real simple.

One of the most interesting aspects of the record is the role of the guitar. In Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe's "Osondi Owendi" (Sweetness and Bitterness), the first plucked notes herald events to come. When the calypso theme kicks in, the guitars get busy criss-crossing back and forth in clean syncopated rhythm (along with bass and plenty of drums). Osadebe sings like an honest storyteller, pacing his extended Ibo lyrics and adding enough occasional lilt to maintain an element of surprise. (According to the liner notes, this 1984 record sold 700,000 copies.)

Despite its blurry, distorted sound, Dr. Victor Olaiya's "Omo Pupa" is an enjoyable detour. Its easy rhythm and melody are certainly infectious. The combination of the guitar as a lead with a old- timey harmonized horn section lend it a mixed up flavor. A similar effect is evinced on Chief Inyang Nta Henshaw's Carib dance number, "Esonta." Henshaw's vocals on this piece are much more cleverly phrased and executed, gaining raw energy from their rhythmic play.

Unfortunately three problems mar this recording. One is the sound quality, which is just downright dirty much of the time. Avoidable? Maybe. The second is the relatively meager documentation, which does not do these masters justice (since the history is half the point). Curiously, significant parts of this text are nearly identical to summaries published by the All Music Guide. And finally, the track by Wura Fadaka is a complete disaster. Who ever thought it would be clever to feature a highlife band that uses a drum machine? Hello, folks? We like real drums!

So this compilation is a mixed bag. You get some amazingly revealing performances and the cream of the crop from major artists, with a few blemishes. All in all, a worthwhile trip.



Various Artists
Ghana Soundz: Afro-Beat, Funk and Fusion in 70's Ghana
Sound Way Records
2003



The subtitle of this compilation tells the story in a nutshell. Producer Miles Cleret, who promises that this is only Volume 1, took it upon himself to comb the country known as The Gold Coast before its 1957 independence from Britain, seeking out lost treasures from the golden age of Ghanaian music. (Where the hell did he find the guy with the hat?)

The '60s and '70s were indeed a happening time in West Africa, following the advent of jazz- based highlife bands and the surging influx of funk. What drove the whole scene was the fact that all this music was dance music, which made it popular and thus encouraged a whole generation of musicians to take part.

And so that brings us to Cleret's discoveries, combed from releases by independents like Essiebons Music and Agoro Music. (Ghana, unlike Nigeria, did not receive much industry attention during this period.) Each one is lovingly documented with date and source (where available) and generous background information about the artist.

One highlight: "Eyi Su Ngaangaa" by the Sweet Talks (1976), a deeply funky excursion into simple harmonies, slyly decorated with an extended trumpet solo by Arthur Kennedy. What makes this tune so special is not its hip groove or catchy melody, but the level of depth and detail that develops in the percussion department. Of all the countries in West Africa, Ghana has perhaps the most complex drumming tradition—and while funk and fusion tended to distill rhythms down to the backbeat, the Sweet Talks draw upon the region's greatest traditional strength.

K. Frimpong and his Cubanos Fiestas make an appearance with "Hwehwe Mu Na Yi Wo Mpena" from 1977—which draws, not surprisingly, from the congas and the bright Cuban horn tradition. But it's also very jazzy, with improvised solos on sax (George Amissah) and trumpet (Arthur Kennedy). The mix of styles here works very well.

"Self Reliance" by the African Brothers International Band is essentially all rhythm section, except for the vocals. The guitars, drums, and organ beat as one supercharged entity along time signatures that twist and turn, traveling through complex territory. Remarkable more for the tightness of the band than any depth of musical vision, the extreme is still breathtaking.

Like any culture in transition, Ghanaian music during the '70s had a difficult time asserting its own identity. So many influences were pouring in and out of the region that there wasn't time or opportunity to form a nucleus. As a result, many of these tunes sound a bit derivative; or maybe that's the point. Deriving ideas from Afrobeat, funk, psychedelia, or fusion is hardly a crime. It's what made West African music strong during this fertile period.




Tracks and Personnel

Best of Boubacar Traoré

Tracks: Bebe Bo Nadero; Kar Kar Madison; Soundiata; Mancipera; Mali Twist; Macire; Les Enfants de Pierrette; Dounia; Mouso Teke Soma Ye; Tounga Mogni; Maou Leye Mara; Je Chanterai Pour Toi; Santa Mariya.

Personnel: Boubacar Traoré and a virtual horde of nameless musicians.

The Kings of Highlife

Tracks: Guitar Boy; Makojo; Joromi; Omo Pupa; Osondi Owendi; Anate; Okwudili; Sanmari Adugbo; Esonta; Ikpechakwa A-Akem Kpee; Igede; Bere Bote; Usondu; So Fun Mi.

Personnel: Sir Victor Awaifo; Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe; Dr. Victor Olaiya; Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson; Paulson Kalu; Wura Fadaka; Chief Inyang Nta Henshaw; Gentle Man Ejeagha; Celestine Ukwu.

Ghana Soundz

Tracks: Because of Money; Bukom Mashie; Mother Africa; Heaven; Simigwado; Eyi Su Ngaangaa; Ageisheka; Psychedelic Woman; Hwehwe Mu Na Yi Wo Mpena; Kwaku Ananse; Self Reliance; Make It Fast, Make It Slow; W'awu Do Ho No; Nite Safarie.

Personnel: The Third Generation Band; Oscar Sulley & The Uhuru Dance Band; Marijata; Ebo Taylor; Gyedu Blay Ambolley & The Steneboofs; The Sweet Talks; The Ogyatanaa Show Band; Honny & The Bees Band; K. Frimpong & his Cubano Fiestas; The Apagya Show Band; The African Brothers; Rob; Alex Konadu; The Black Star Sound.

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