Chino Odimba
April 2005 - Festivals, Gigs and Clubs including Jali Sherrifo Konteh
Hello and welcome. Let me tell you about some of the delicious - yes I said delicious - tasty, tasty music I have in store for you...
Festivals
Let's talk festivals. They seem to start earlier and earlier but this is no bad thing because they also bring with them a fantastic collection of the best names in African music.
A new festival starts this year in the South West. Wychwood World and Roots Festival runs from 3rd to 5th June 2005 at the Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucester. One of the main acts for this event will be the legendary Guinean musician Mory Kante, as well as the eclectic Baka Beyond, Omar Sosa and Dhafer Youssef. And that's just the line-up for one day! You can find out more about the festival at www.wychwoodfestival.com . I hope to see you all there.
Another place worth heading to this year is the Newbury Spring Festival (7th - 21st May 2005). A smaller, non-tent event, this year the festival brings us Mbawula & the Township Sisters. The group was formed in 1998 as a way of fusing the elements of South African township sounds with more traditional big band jazz. Theirs is the kind of music that lifts the spirit and broadens the mind. Remember, in Zulu tradition 'Mbawula means 'full of fire' - don't say I didn't warn you!
Like I said this is only the beginning of the festival season so watch this space for more in the future. If you know of any African music festivals or events in the South West or Midlands that you think we should know about, please send me a message .
But if the sun still isn't shining enough for a festival where you are then here are some things we can do indoors with our shoes on...
Gigs and Clubs coming up
For those who like their tropical African tunes mixed with a hefty dose of rhumba you should check out Club Calabash at the Devonshire Arms in Cambridge every Tuesday. Then on 6th May, festival stalwarts ZubopGambia are set to blow the roof off the Wiltshire Music Centre. Zubop have played regularly at WOMAD and Glastonbury. The seven-piece goes one step better this time, joining forces with Gambian master musicians Mosi Conde (kora) and Njega Sohna (Djembe). With this high energy music, there is no better way to end your week.
Jali Sherrifo Konteh
Jali Sherrifo Kontehwas born in Brikama, the Gambia where he still lives. Like many griots (French term for West African singers) before him, Sheriffo has had the music of the kora (21-string harp-lute) in his blood from the day he was born. He took it up at the age of six and his father was his main teacher until his death when Sherrifo was twelve. His great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and three brothers (Mamadou, Dembo and Bakiba), were or are all famous musicians.
Still relatively unknown outside of his own country, Sheriffo is truly a master of his instrument. His first album 'Mansolou: The Great Kings of Africa' is a roughly recorded collection of new and traditional songs. And although people in our highly digital age lament 'bad recordings', you really feel that the album holds some integrity because of this unpolished sound. This is not strictly 'palm wine' music but listening to it reminds every time of the innocent kick that palm wine is known for. This is the beginning of good things for this storyteller, later on this year he releases another album - more polished and full of the beauty of Kora music.
See you soon.
Chino
Chino Odimba's Recommended CDs
Jali Sheriffo Konteh - Mansolou
Moctar Mockolo Savane - Badija
Mbawula - Southern Grooves
Mory Kante - Sabou
Check out my recommended CDs this month in the CD Reviews section or go to Music Search to look at our archive of recommended CDs.