• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Sep 15, 2011 Web Exclusive By J. Pace

This record compiles some classics from the influential Malian musician/bandleader Sorry Bamba, giving Western fans of West African music a nice retrospective of a perhaps lesser-known artist. The American half of Thrill Jockey Kenyan-American band Extra Golden, Alex Minoff and Ian Eagleson, compiled the recordings, receiving direct input from Bamba himself.

During the years covered, Bamba led up the Regional Orchestra of Mopti, in an extra-fertile, post-colonial Malian music scene. Bamba and crew stirred together folkloric Malian fare like that of the Dogon people, latin flavors such as those found in Ghanaian highlife music, and the Western R&B and funk that dots Afrobeat and other genres, with Bamba’s singular, nasally pipes taking the forefront on and off.

The songs collected here are fairly wide-ranging. “Astan Kelly” is an instant favorite, with its doubled-up guitar/flute refrain, swirling organ, and Cuban-leaning flavors. “Sékou Amadou” charms with its contrapuntal horn section, off-kilter guitar solo, and rapid-fire French vocal passages. “Poory” gave Bamba a chance to show off his trumpet chops over a another steady Afro-Cuban backdrop. A few surprises also await listeners, such as the out-of-nowhere synth solo on “Sayouwe,” musical double-take material.

Bamba had a rough childhood, losing his parents at age 10, and soon thereafter found some salvation in music. That his burgeoning career coincided with his country’s newfound independence in 1960 seems no accident, and Bamba ended up casting a wide shadow on many a Malian achieving more fame than he ever did. Thrill Jockey’s doing a great service to cast it a little further. (www.thrilljockey.com)

Author rating: 7/10