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The stage was draped with the flags of nationalities that were to be
performing, and highlighted the range of musical styles to which we were
to be treated. The Malian flag was centre stage, naturally.
The
evening's festivities opened with all of the musicians coming onto the
stage - where they stayed, in their respective positions. This made the
transitions between the eight different artists and bands very quick and
efficient, but it can't have done much for the performers themselves.
Kudos is due in particular to one member of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
who sported a sousaphone all night.
Talking of which, their song
Sankofa, performed with Tony Allen, with its pulsing brassy beat, was
particularly good. Later on in the evening, they played an equally
exuberant cover of Rabbit Hop by Moondog, which was originally recorded
in 1955.
When Kokanko Sata moved to the front of the stage, she played a
three-stringed hunters' harp - the kamelen n'goni, accompanied only by
her deep, throaty voice. Her self-titled album (recorded under a mango
tree over six days, in continuous takes, no less) includes a full band,
and features the distinctive sound of the balafon. On a few
occasions the rhythm got the better of
her, and she spontaneously started dancing during other people's songs,
to the audience's delight. Her second performance was a duet with Alpha
'Pedro' Sankare, performing The Djembe, a track from Mali Music.
Candi Staton, fresh from Glastonbury, was a real treat. She filled
the auditorium with her voice during the classic, I'm Just a Prisoner
and also performed a new song on the stage for the first time: Who's
Hurting Now. Following Staton's first performance was Toumani Diabaté, a
master of the kora: a 21-string harp unique to West Africa. Given the
richness of the sound being produced, it was difficult to reconcile that
just one person was creating it.
Simone White and Victoria Williams,
both American singer-songwriters, brought something a
little different to the proceedings. White managed to hold her own, with
the quirky Bunny In A Bunny Suit, but Williams seemed to struggle
slightly. Her solo performances on an acoustic guitar were eminently
listenable, but it probably didn't help that she immediately followed
raucous numbers on both occasions that she played.
The fusion of African music and American blues as performed by Lobi
Traoré was, to quote the young people of today, pretty 'far out'. He and
his band performed their allocated two songs in one big, glorious
continuation. One of the guitarists was particularly adept at playing
his guitar at first over the back of his head, and shortly thereafter,
on his back, with his legs kicking frantically in the air.
It wasn't
difficult to get caught up in their enthusiasm, especially during the last song of the evening, Sunset Coming On,
also from Mali Music, which Albarn sang along with Staton. It abruptly
shifted from a fairly downtempo number into a fast-paced dance, and the
hitherto slightly reserved audience responded enthusiastically, cheering
and clapping ever faster.
Albarn conducted his assembled group of
musicians to a rousing finish, rounding off two hours of fantastic,
eclectic music. Delving into the back catalogue of Honest Jons is very
highly recommended.
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