The Malian and Cuban musicians behind AfroCubism close out their three-city tour of North America at The Town Hall in New York City tonight. The Times of London calls AfroCubism "an album of extraordinary cross-cultural musicianship." It was featured on NPR's All Things Considered, which sums up AfroCubism as "a summit of giants at play—their egos in check, their hearts open and the tangled history of two worlds flowing through their veins." The Wall Street Journal notes the album's "easy communion and some gorgeous details."
The Malian and Cuban musicians behind the new AfroCubism album—featuring guitarist Eliades Ochoa, kora master Toumani Diabaté, ngoni player Bassekou Kouyaye, vocalist Kassé Mady Diabaté, guitarist Djelimady Tounkara, balafon player Fode Lassana Diabaté—close out their three-city tour of North America at The Town Hall in New York City tonight, following shows in Montreal and Boston over the weekend. The Town Hall show makes today's Gig Alert from NPR member station WYNC, which is offering a free download of the album track "Al vaivén de mi carreta" today at wnyc.org.
The album, recorded 14 years after the original Havana sessions intended for it that yielded the Buena Vista Social Club instead and described as "an album of extraordinary cross-cultural musicianship" by the Times of London, was featured on the latest episode of NPR's All Things Considered. In the piece, NPR's Banning Eyre examines that long history and the even deeper roots that run through this meeting of African and Cuban cultures.
"Deep history underlies the musical interplay on AfroCubism," explains Eyre, who notes that such ties exist both on a larger cultural scale between the two countries of origin and in the person histories of the particular artists involved in the project, including the "golden-throated" Kassé Mady Diabaté and guitarist Tounkara, "one of four virtuoso instrumentalists in AfroCubism's Malian contingent."
There's a considerable amount of talent to come from the Cubans side as well, led by Ochoa of Buena Vista Social Club fame.
All this leads Eyre to conclude: "AfroCubism is a summit of giants at play—their egos in check, their hearts open and the tangled history of two worlds flowing through their veins."
You can listen to the complete All Things Considered segment as well as two tracks off the album at npr.org.
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AfroCubism is the subject of a feature article in today's Wall Street Journal. In the article, Journal music writer Larry Blumenfeld takes a look at the story behind the project and notes the resulting album's "easy communion and some gorgeous details, such as the interlacing of the electric guitar and balafon on 'Nima Diyala,' and of Mr. Ochoa's guitar and Mr. Kouyate's bass ngoni on 'Mariama.' Best of all is 'Jarabi,' a hypnotic griot song that Toumani Diabaté frames by quoting 'Macusa,' a Cuban tune made famous by [Compay] Segundo."
Read the complete article at online.wsj.com.
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The Boston Herald, in a review of Sunday night's show at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston, says "the ensemble played like it was making up for lost time." Reviewer Bob Young says "The group spent nearly two hours in a no-holds-barred exchange of ideas, rhythms and melodies ... Coloring every song was the unexpected." You can read the complete concert review at bostonherald.com.
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Head to the Nonesuch Store to pick up a copy of AfroCubism with high-quality, 320 kbps MP3s included at checkout, along with the exclusive bonus track "Keme Bourama." To watch live performances and behind-the-scenes studio footage of the band, visit nonesuch.com/media.
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