LA Times: Youssou N'Dour's "Constantly Compelling" Show

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As he wrote in his recent preview of Youssou N'Dour's performance with the Super Étoile band at LA's Royce Hall, the Los Angeles Times's Don Heckman was clearly looking forward to Saturday's show there. According to Heckman's concert review in today's Times, Youssou did not disappoint, and the crowd responded in kind, dancing in the aisles—"animated Terpsichores, arms and legs moving wildly in all direction"—despite the hall's restrictions against it. "The sheer vitality of N'Dour's music almost demands physical movement," he writes. And the give-and-take continued, with Youssou responding to the crowd's energy "by dialing up the already dynamic intensity of the music."

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As he wrote in his recent preview of Youssou N'Dour's performance with the Super Étoile band at LA's Royce Hall, the Los Angeles Times's Don Heckman was clearly looking forward to Saturday's show there. According to Heckman's concert review in today's Times, Youssou did not disappoint, and the crowd responded in kind, dancing in the aisles—"animated Terpsichores, arms and legs moving wildly in all direction"—despite the hall's restrictions against it. "The sheer vitality of N'Dour's music almost demands physical movement," he writes. And the give-and-take continued, with Youssou responding to the crowd's energy "by dialing up the already dynamic intensity of the music." As Heckman explains:

[T]he music illuminated the essence of his belief—underscored in the title of his recently released CD, Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take)—in the back-and-forth between contemporary African music and the Western Hemisphere sounds and rhythms created by African slaves. The mixture was constantly compelling ... the sheer quality of his voice, capable of delivering an astonishing range of sounds and timbres, combined with Super Etoile's blend of ensemble craft and spontaneous energy, was more than enough to thrust aside any barriers of language and culture.

For the complete review, visit calendarlive.com.

---

That rousing performance in LA marked the end of the California leg of Youssou's US tour. Up next, he and the band made their way to Colorado, for a Sunday night set at the Boulder Theater. Previewing that show, Nick Hall wrote in the Denver Westword that "Youssou N'Dour gives world music a good name." For Hall, the back-and-forth to which Heckman refers creates "something infinitely greater than the sum of its parts." Hall writes:

Through incredibly intelligent songcraft and superb musicianship, he creates music that doesn't need the trimmings and trappings of Western acceptance to create a market and foster enthusiasm. Weaving unfamiliar African rhythms around pop structures and then painting them with the vibrant colors of both traditional African acoustic instrumentation and guitars and keyboards, his arresting tenor—regarded as one of the best voices in the world today—floats weightlessly on top, making for a combination that's excitingly different and entirely organic all at once.

For more from Denver, visit westword.com.

Youssou plays one more night in the Rockies with a stop in Aspen tonight before heading east to Chicago's House of Blues this Wednesday. For more tour information, click here.

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Youssou N'Dour: "Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take)" [cover]
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  • Sunday, December 2, 2007
    LA Times: Youssou N'Dour's "Constantly Compelling" Show

    As he wrote in his recent preview of Youssou N'Dour's performance with the Super Étoile band at LA's Royce Hall, the Los Angeles Times's Don Heckman was clearly looking forward to Saturday's show there. According to Heckman's concert review in today's Times, Youssou did not disappoint, and the crowd responded in kind, dancing in the aisles—"animated Terpsichores, arms and legs moving wildly in all direction"—despite the hall's restrictions against it. "The sheer vitality of N'Dour's music almost demands physical movement," he writes. And the give-and-take continued, with Youssou responding to the crowd's energy "by dialing up the already dynamic intensity of the music." As Heckman explains:

    [T]he music illuminated the essence of his belief—underscored in the title of his recently released CD, Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take)—in the back-and-forth between contemporary African music and the Western Hemisphere sounds and rhythms created by African slaves. The mixture was constantly compelling ... the sheer quality of his voice, capable of delivering an astonishing range of sounds and timbres, combined with Super Etoile's blend of ensemble craft and spontaneous energy, was more than enough to thrust aside any barriers of language and culture.

    For the complete review, visit calendarlive.com.

    ---

    That rousing performance in LA marked the end of the California leg of Youssou's US tour. Up next, he and the band made their way to Colorado, for a Sunday night set at the Boulder Theater. Previewing that show, Nick Hall wrote in the Denver Westword that "Youssou N'Dour gives world music a good name." For Hall, the back-and-forth to which Heckman refers creates "something infinitely greater than the sum of its parts." Hall writes:

    Through incredibly intelligent songcraft and superb musicianship, he creates music that doesn't need the trimmings and trappings of Western acceptance to create a market and foster enthusiasm. Weaving unfamiliar African rhythms around pop structures and then painting them with the vibrant colors of both traditional African acoustic instrumentation and guitars and keyboards, his arresting tenor—regarded as one of the best voices in the world today—floats weightlessly on top, making for a combination that's excitingly different and entirely organic all at once.

    For more from Denver, visit westword.com.

    Youssou plays one more night in the Rockies with a stop in Aspen tonight before heading east to Chicago's House of Blues this Wednesday. For more tour information, click here.

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