This week World Tour starts in a country that's currently in turmoil. For the last several weeks Syria has seen protests against the regime of Bashir al Assad, and hundreds of deaths. A far cry from the spiritual music and rich culture for which it's justly famous. Among its most famous musical exports in Abed Azrié, who sets ancient and modern Arabic texts to traditional instruments such as the ney, kanun, and darbuka. Azrie came to prominence with his 1990 album Aromates, his deep mellifluous voice floating over an almost orchestral background. For a good sampling of his music, try his website http://www.abedazrie.com/ - the show features "Like Water" off his 1995 album Lapis Lazuli.
One of Azrie's collaborators on his majestic choral album L'Evangile Selon Jean [The Gospel According to St John] released last year is a master of the oud, a pear-shaped cousin of the lute that underpins much of the music of the Arab world. He has collaborated with a wide variety of musicians including French rock guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay, who stumbled across a performance by al Jaramani at the end of a tour of Syria in 2002. At first sight their album Interzone is an unlikely marriage of ancient and modern, but it's mystic, bold and experimental. The track on the show: "Out of Walls." And accessible here Shataraban - from the same album.
There's a guy called Rahim Alhaj who wanders the streets of Albuquerque with his oud. Alhaj settled in New Mexico after fleeing Iraq in 1991, where he had a spell in one of Saddam Hussein's prisons after writing a song that questioned the Iran/Iraq war. He still worries about his family back in Sadr City - but he now plays for audiences across America and was nominated for a Grammy back in 2007. Last year he came out with an ambitious double CD called Little Earth which featured collaborations with Peter Buck, Robert Mirabal and Bill Frizell among many others. One of the finest tracks on the album is a meeting of two venerable string traditions - the oud and the 21-string kora - a duet with Mali's Yacouba Sissoko. The blog Inside World Music has a review of the album, and the song on the show is called "The Other Time."
Yacouba Sissoko toured North America last year with banjoist Jayme Stone, who spent months in Mali getting into its rich griot traditions. The fruits of that trip can be heard on his album Africa to Appalachia, a collaboration with Mansa Sissoko (the name Sissoko in Mali is more common than Jones here) and featuring a guest appearance by fiddler phenom Casey Driessen. No surprise that the 2008 album won the Canadian Juno award for Best World Music album. And there's plenty of music from a live performance in 2008 as well as some interesting background on the artists at this NPR mini-site - where the fourth song they perform is the one on the show - "Bibi."
Casey Driessen had his own African odyssey with Bela Fleck, a journey to explore the roots of the banjo. The trip was documented in the film 'Throw Down Your Heart' which is well worth finding. They travel to Uganda, Tanzania, Gambia and Mali, meeting and playing with local musicians and discovering the cousins of American folk and bluegrass. An album of collaborations also called Throw Down Your Heart came out of the trip. All About Jazz said "every track is a gem. Throw Down Your Heart is a masterpiece not to be missed."
One outstanding track is "D'Gary Jam." Fleck says: “This track started its life in Nashville. We had a great jam one day, which went for 22 minutes straight, the whole take was really cool." It's not 22 minutes on the album, but I wish it was. The title track can be heard here.
The contributors on the album read like a who's who of African music. One of those jamming on D'Gary Jam is the Cameroonian jazz artists and bass player Richard Bona, whose 1999 album Scenes From My Life brought him to the attention of an international audience. I met him at the St Lucia Jazz Festival (tough gig), where he told me his first guitar was fashioned from the spokes of an old bicycle. Nowadays, his music is all refined melody with some gorgeous vocal arrangements in his native Douala. The track on the show is "Konda Djanea" and his website is here.
Another highlight on Throw Down Your Heart is “Djorolen,” a duet with singer Oumou Sangare, who delivers a vocal that expresses heartbreaking beauty and sadness. Sangare - known as the 'songbird of Wassoulou' (a region of Mali) - made her first album at the age of 21 and was subsequently championed by Ali Farka Toure, who introduced her to World Circuit Records. Another of her laments is Saa Magni - which translates as "Death is Terrible", from the album Ka Sira. It may be sad, but its soulful essence is perversely a thing of joy.
Any excuse to play a track from Ali Farka Toure, however tenuous the link. So here's one from his album with Toumani Diabate In the Heart of the Moon. It was the first of two collaborations between the two, the second being called simply Ali and Toumani. The virtuosity on display in the track Kadi Kadi is stunning. Little wonder that In the Heart of the Moon won the award for Best Traditional World Album at the 48th Grammy Awards. Sadly Toure died before he could accept the award. Check out the Guardian's review of the album.
So finally, the new release, and it features the voice of Taj Mahal, who also produced Vusi Mahlasela's new album, Say Africa. Taj Mahal also collaborated on an album with Toumani Diabate, recorded (naturally enough) in Athens, Georgia; and they kicked up a storm playing live together in Central Park, New York. Vusi's latest offering is a more mellow affair, but the man known as "The Voice" in his homeland is in fine fettle and he has plenty to say about social and cultural issues in southern Africa. On the show, the track chosen is "In Anyway" with Taj Mahal on vocals. Hear Vusi sing it live on Seattle station KEXP. Most of the album was recorded in Dave Matthews' studio in Charlottesville (they have long been friends). Oh, and Vusi was also on Throw Down Your Heart - and performed at the opening of last year's World Cup.
As always join me on World Tour - every Wednesday evening on WMLB Atlanta, the "Voice of the Arts" -- at AM1690; and online at http://1690wmlb.com.
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