Program of Examples of Music from Senegambia

Available for your listening pleasure on YUMCD130a.10

N.B. Be sure to review selection 18 on Wright CD6. While "Kasun Jura" represent music of a different West African culture, there are some important similarites between that example and the items listed below. For example, the hour-glass shaped talking drum known as the dondon is similar to the tawa found in Senegambia. The two-headed, barrle-shaped gongon appears in both regions. Certain structural and rhythmic principals are also similar and you will find additional examples of call and response technique as well as polyrhythmic interactions in the selectiregarding the ideal functioning of speech and song often govern how musicians think about their instrumental parts. Compare the drumming patterns in Kasuran Kura with those heard in item 2 and 3 below.

Item 1.
Title: "Lambengo" [3:06]
Composer: list of performers
Date: 1970
Performers:Mariatu Kuyateh (vocals), Kekuta Suso (Kora - a 21-stringed harp-lute), and Seni Jobteh (speech and percussion)
Genre: jaliya - praise song

NOTES

The Art of the Griot or Jali

Senegal is a land where singers and musicians have functioned for many centureis as storytellers, historians, geneologists, advisors, ambassadors, and royal press secretatries. Musicians assuming this diverse set of roles are considers professional sound artisans known as jalolu (singular jali) and their work is called jaliya. The duty of the jalalou was to serve their patrons by providing music for important social occasions. A patron might be a royal person, a wealthy merchant, a well-placed scholar, or a land-owning farmer. Through music listeners were taught their history, inspired to public service, readied for battle, counseled for diplomatic negotiations, or feted on the occasion of important moments in traditional life such as birthdays, circumcision, coming of age, marriage, death.

The Ancient Kingdom of Mali

Senegalese culture is linked to that of other West African nations. Think of the Sahara as a vast sand sea along whose shore trade has been conducted for centuries. Desert trade connected civilizations across the Mediterranean and the Sudan. Along the south shore of the Sahara grew the fabulously wealthy kingdom of ancient Mali which once embraced all, or portions of, the modern nationa states of Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Niger, and Guinea. Although the political leaders of the ancient kingdom were Muslim, many people retained pre-Islamic religious and cutlural traditions. The songs of the griot predate the arrival of Islam, but the tradition was adapted to serve rulers who operated in the new faith. After 1600 the kingdom was fractured by various invading groups including Moroccan opportunists and Britisht and French colonists. Today the songs of the jalalou weave together these diverse threads of history by blending references to events in the past with those in the present.

Characteristics of "Lambango"

The song "Lambango" illustrate the art of the jali. The prominent instrument heard in this selection is the kora. The 21 strings of this spiked harp-lute are tuned to a seven pitch scale. The tuning heard in this example is the sauta tuning. When the singer's role is to present melody emphasizing text, the kora player performs a repaeating musical phrase, an ostinato (called kumbengo) plucked on the outer stings to extablish the tonality and metric foundation of the songs. Inbetween verses, the kora player inserts freer passages called birimintingo that add musical interest and display technical skill. In some cases, as in "Lambango," one of the performers may tapa rhythm on the body of the kora, a procedure known as konkon.

Just as there are two main playing techniques, there are also twon main approaches to singing. Donkilo is when the singer presents a fixed melody with verses of text, and sataro is a more open-ended kind of vocal delivery, often resembling chant or spoken language. The art of the jali is a carefully guarded skill passed along from father to son and kept within the family line. Despite this male lineage, some of the most famous singers have been women and indeed, the female voice is considered ideal for effective song. In this performance Mrs. Kuyateh and Mr. Jobateh use the two singing techniques to perform a kind of dialogue, a characteristic structural concept for much African music.

The text of "Lambeng" celebrate three twentieht-century Gambian leaders: Musa Molo, Dembo Dansa, and Jewuru Kurubali. The lyrics note where significant events in their lives occurred. The singers praise the generoisty and chatacter of these leaders by reciting jamundiro, formulaic poetic phrases such as "the hundred-giver" (kemenila), meaning someone of great generosity. This performance alerts us to the way that te'tual conventions help shapte musical performance.

Source: Locke, David. "Mande Jaliya: "Lambango' in Worlds of Music edited by Jeff Titon, New York: Schirmer Books, 1996:101-111. The full text to Lambango can be found in this book which is on reserve in the Music Library, YUMP334.3.

Item 2
Title: Doundoumba
Composer: N/A
Date: recorded in 1995
Performers: Bakary Dansokho, Oumane Ba, Thiede Kante
Genre: Village music recorded in Tamacounda, Senegal

NOTES

Mandiani drumming is noted for its exciting energy. The djembe (a single-headed goblet-shaped drum with a high-pitched tone; its growing popularity around the world is evident in the Rhythmweb) is at the heart of this ensemble. The other two drums are the doundoun (a big bass drum with laced heads) and the sangbe (a medium bass drum drum with an attached bell). Note the variety of timbres, frequencies and rhythmic patterns heard in the different drum parts. Traditionally Doundoumba was dance for strong men and was performed at a rather fast tempo. It is one of three main dances associated with the Mande tradition (coming from the ancient kingdom of Mali) of Mandiani music and dance. A distinctive rhythm is performed on the djembe. In 12/8 with /=a stroke and ' = an eigth rest the repeated pattern is: / ' / / ' ' / ' / / ' ' The duondoun plays freer solo part which cues the movements of the dancers.

Sources:

Sunkett, Mark. Mandiani Drum and Dance. White Cliffs Media.
Masterpieces of African Rhythm, Vol. 1. White Cliffs Media, CD#WCM 9923 [1997]

Item 3
Title: "Faabi"
Composer: N/A
Date: recorded in 1995
Performer: Omar Thiam
Genre: sabar drumming from Senegal

NOTES

Sabar drumming is an ancient art and Omar Thiam is a master drummer of the Serer people, one of the most ancient ethnic groups of Senegal. ASU Professor Mark Sunkett is a renowned expert in Sabar drumming and has recently released a new recording featuring Omar Thiam.

Source:

Masterpieces of African Rhythm, Vol. 1. White Cliffs Media, CD#WCM 9923 [1997]

Item 4
Title: "Diandoli"
Composer: N/A
Date: recorded in 1995
Performer(s): Etoile de Dakar (Star Band of Dakar - including Ibra Kasse, Labah Sosseh, Pape Seck)
Genre: mbalax (contemporary dance music; heard in clubs, parties and staged concerts)

NOTES

The band heard in this example, the Star Band of Dakar, was formed in 1960 to celebrate Senegal's independence. These musicians appeared in trendy night clubs like the Miami Bar (in Dakar) and played Afro-Cuban rhythms as they sang in Wolof, Mandinka, Spanish, or Kriolu (Portugese Creole).

The Latin feel of this selection is modern, but not without precedent. Cuban dance rhythms were part of Senegalese musical vocabulary well before World War II. Dakar is one of West Africa's most important seaports and many foreign musicians passed through the city. By the late 1960s legendary Cuban musicians such as Orquesta Aragon, and Johnny Pacheco were "household names" to the Senegalese (Cathcart, 1995: 164). This recording reflects an earlier mbalax sound than the examples below featuring Youssou N'Dour and Toure Kunda.

Source:

World Music - The Rough Guide, Catalogue One. World Music Network CD#RGNET 1001 [1994]. Track 5.

Item 5
Title: "Wadini"
Composer: N/A
Date: 1986
Performer(s): Isamel, Sixu Tidane, Ousmane Toure
Genre: djambaadong

NOTES

The group featured in this selection, Toure Kunda, began as a band of three brothers: Ismael, Sixu, and Amadou Toure. They were born in Casamance in southern Senegal and moved to Paris to study in the late 1970s. By the end of the decade they were combining Mandinka melodies with mbalax (a mixture of Cuban dance music with Senegalese traditional music made popular by the renowned Youssou N'Dour), highlife, soul, salsa, and a reggae beat to create djambaadong. In 1983, Amadou Toure collapsed and died at a performance in France. He was replaced by his brother Ousmane, a fine singer himself.

Given the inseparable bond between music and dance in Africa, it should come as little surprise that an irresistible feature of Toure Kunda in live performance are the dancers that join the band. Critics rave about the dancing of Seynabou Diop who performs with the group. In the Rough Guide to World Music, Jenny Cathcart describes Ms. Diop as "a veritable firebrand who illuminates the stage with her exuberant physicality."

Source:

Travel the World with Putamayo, Putamayo World Records CD#PUTU-130-2 [1997]. Track 4. (Originally released on Toubab Bi, Sabaar Music [1986].)

Item 6
Title: "Fakastalu" ("Watch Your Step")
Composer: Youssou N'Dour
Date: 1986
Performers: Youssou N'Dour (lead vocals), Ouzin Ndiaye (backing vocals), Assante Thiam (tama, a variable-pitch drum), Mbaye Dieye Faye (percussion), Mimi Mbaye (lead guitar), Pap Oumar Ngom (rhythm guitar), Habib Faye (keyboards, bass), Ibou Cisse (keyboards, guitar), Gallas Niang (drums), Issa Cissocko (tenor saxophone), Theirno Koite (saxophones)
Genre: mbalax

NOTES

The lead singer on this selection, Youssou N'Dour, is one of the most familiar names in contemporary African music, in large part due to his collaborations with Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman, and Bruce Springstein. Born in 1959 in the Medina district of Dakar (capital of Senegal), N'Dour was the son of a griot (traditional praise singer). He began his career singing with Ibra Kasse's Star Band of Dakar (see item 4). During the 1970s these musicians helped develop the powerful mbalax style - a kind of electrified Senegalese percussion. In 1979, N'Dour broke away from the group to form a new band called Etoile de Dakar (Star of Dakar). In 1981, the group went to Paris, the European with the strongest links to the area, and explored the African scene there.

In Senegal there are several important language groups: Mande is one, Wolof is another. N'Dour uses Wolof. In the tradition of a gawalo, the Wolof term for griot, N'Dour uses power without sharing its secrets. He codes his messages for different groups of listeners, Wolof speaking, French speaking, or English speaking. His international stature gives him a special power to interpret current events for his listeners. He explains:

In my society where there are those who cannot read or write, I was able to tell them in song just what was happening in South Africa. My own mother had seen pictures on TV but she didn't fully understand the situation. I could make a link between the situation in South Africa today and a famous, bloody battle in our own history - the battle of N'Der in the nineteenth century. (N'Dour in Taylor, 1997:130).

In much of his music Youssou N'Dour sings about the problems of Africans who are trying to be, to use Tim Taylor's phrase, "the subjects of modernity not its objects" (Global Pop, 1997: 127). N'Dour sings about the dangers of tourism, the destruction of the environment, the problems of encroaching urbanization, and the unfortunate modern inclination to forget or ignore the wisdom of one's ancestors. His songs frequently exhort listeners to take action, to work together, and to uphold the community building values of Islam. Though he is most concerned about the future of Senegal, he just as often speaks to Western listeners inviting them to a more informed understanding of Africa and the challenges faced by its people.

Mbalax means the rhythm of the drum in Wolof. N'Dour describes the style:

The mbung mbung drum, along with others like the talmbeut, ndende, bougarabu, djembe, nder, tunge, gorong, and tama, create the rhythm. When they say in Dakar, "C'est tres mbalax," they mean its got a very strong, distinctive rhythm. So the base of mbalax is the drums, collectively known as sabars. There could be up to eight in any traditional line-up. In my group, I gave some of those drum parts to the guitars and keyboards. The rhythms can change with in songs - that is always a big attraction. This diversity comes from many tribal sources: Toucouleur, Peul, Bambara, Djola, Serer, as well as Wolof. We could make ten songs and they'd all sound different, unusual to people in the West. So I created this modern style, but the Senegalese quickly recognized it as their own popular music, and when it was recorded in France under favorable conditions it made even better sense to them. (N'Dour quoted in Taylor, 1997: 127-8.)

Some listeners will hear the heavy bass sound of South African popular mbaqanqa (made internationally famous by Ladysmith Black Mambazo) in mbalax. Others will hear a continuing influence of Cuban rhythms, reggae, salsa, soul and even disco. N'Dour, who is frequently skeptical about the political benefits of modernity for Africans, believes that African popular music must move forward and should reflect the growing cosmopolitan experience of many of its creators. He rejects the purist argument that he should not mix western sounds with traditionally African ones, arguing that if Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon can "Africanize" their music, then he should be permitted to "westernize" his. Although today he lives in London, he has his own recording studio in Dakar, called Xippi, meaning "eyes open" in Wolof.

CLOSING NOTE

The additional examples of drumming that we heard in class were from the film called Djabote, featuring the Senegalese Master drummer, Doudou N'Diaye Rose.