Bassekou Kouyaté and Ami Sacko feted by Richmonders at the Richmond Folk Festival
Mali’s famous orchestra
NGONI
BA was the Toast of the Town at the Richmond Folk Festival.
Led by
ngoni magician Bassekou Kouyaté and his vocalist wife
Ami Sacko, the orchestra of seven Malian musicians wowed the crowd,
and ended the Festival at fever pitch as three or four thousand fans
danced the evening away at the Dominian Dance Pavilion on Brown’s
Island Sunday night, October 16th.
Kouyaté is an ancient musical name in
Mali. At Sunday’s banjo workshop with four of Virginia’s banjo
masters, Bassekou explained how he had learned to play the
ngoni
from his father and grandfather, and how his ancestors were
playing music and sang the sovereign’s praises seven hundred years
ago at the court of the original Lion King, Sunjata Keita. The Lion
King founded the Malian Empire in the year 1235, and his legend
became famous through the songs of his
griot Balafasé
Kouyaté, ancestor of Bassekou the leader of
NGONI BA.
The
griot plays multiple roles
in Malian society: story-teller and praise-singer, poet and musician,
guardian of state and family secrets, historian and diplomat,
spokesman for senior politicians and also for suitors wanting to
negotiate a marriage. You cannot choose to be a
griot: the
role is hereditary, passed from father to son and from mother to
daughter…. And normally
griot families marry between
themselves. Bassekou Kouyaté and Ami Sacko both have famous musical
griot names.
Griots play a vital role in Malian
society, and the greatest family of
griots is Kouyaté.
The four-stringed ngoni is the
musical ancestor of the American banjo. Brought to Jamestown in the
1600s by slaves from the Mali Empire, the ngoni was adapted
and modified by American musicians into the 5-stringed American banjo
we know today. Different adaptations were being made also in Mali.
Bassekou told the audience that older versions of the ngoni
were often made using a gourd as soundbox… but if you drop one of
these, it breaks – which is why most ngoni players prefer a
carved wood base that also delivers a richer sound. Bassekou played
on both the four-stringed version, and his own invention of a larger,
seven-stringed ngoni that gives him more variation and greater
volume.
Bassekou’s group played on the
prestigious Altria stage Sunday afternoon at 2pm, but they said that
they most enjoyed their two evening performances on the more intimate
Dominian dance stage, where they felt more direct contact with their
enthusiastic admirers. The final Sunday evening concert developed an
electric atmosphere between dancers and musicians. When Ami Sacko
opened her throat and let her voice soar, her fans showered the stage
with dollar bills – showing that many Richmonders understand Malian
culture and know that famous griots expect rewards for their
praise singing.
We heard many of the group’s famous
hit songs; but we especially enjoyed Ami’s rendering of Musow,
meaning ‘women’: “Let us greet all our women, and
thank them because they take care of their children and husbands…
they give birth to our children, they give birth to all of us…”
This is such a very African sentiment, one from which Americans could
learn a great deal.
 |
| Alou Coulibaly on calebasse! |
Behind the four ngoni players, Alou
Coulibaly provided rhythm with his hands on the upturned gourd, or
calabash=calebasse, while Moussa Sissoko provided
entertainment and energy with his shaker yabura and the
talking drum tamani which he played with extraordinary
virtuosity, and such speed that for the audience his flying hands
were reduced to a blur.
We also loved the group’s rendering
of Bambugu Blues, about a king of Segou in the 1700s whose
sticking-out teeth were so ugly that he felt ashamed of them, and
knocked them out with a rock. This song was composed by Vieux Farka
Touré, son of the late legendary guitarist Ali Farka Touré who won
two Grammy awards. On Bassekou’s CD I Speak Fula (on sale at
the Plan 9 store at the Festival and on Cary Street), this track was
recorded with Vieux Farka Touré playing his dad’s guitar. Two
years ago, Vieux Farka Touré himself opened the Richmond Folk
Festival with huge acclaim. Whenever Malian musicians play in
Richmond, Richmonders go crazy with dancing joy !
At home I also have Ami Sacko’s
stunning solo album
Integration, and another album from
NGONI
BA called
Segu Blues –a musical tribute to
Bassekou’s home city of Segou, Richmond’s sister city.
The next time I shall hear NGONI
BA perform will be in February 2012 at the Segou Festival of
the Niger River. Virginia Friends of Mali will be taking a delegation
Segou - to visit the beauties of Mali, to inaugurate officially the
maternity clinic we have just built in Segou, and to enjoy the
Festival. I sincerely recommend you to join us for this unique and
unforgettable experience. Come with us ! This will be a memorable
trip, one you must not miss !
Robin
Edward Poulton known
as Macky Tall
Vice-President,
Virginia Friends of Mali
Tel/fax:
1 804 355 6821 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1 804 355 6821 end_of_the_skype_highlighting rpoulton@comcast.net
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