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A Blast of Soul: Bembeya Jazz
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San Francisco Chronicle, A Blast of Soul: Bembeya Jazz >>
Listen to certain songs on this album and you might think -- momentarily -- you were listening to the Buena Vista Social Club or
Orchestra Baobab. The arrangements, the horns and guitars, the silky Afro-Cuban sounds -- all are reminiscent of the two groups that
experienced much-deserved revivals in recent years.
"Bembeya" signifies another important resurrection, this one of a prominent band from the West African country of Guinea. Bembeya
Jazz has been around 40 years, but after reaching their heyday in the '60s, '70s and early '80s, they recorded and performed
sparingly -- until now. Their first album in 14 years is a mix of signature songs they've reworked with the help of new band
members, typified by "Sanfaran," a six-minute rhapsody that has Doumbouya Alseny singing with gusto against a backdrop of cabaret
and dance-floor energy.
The title tune, which opens "Bembeya," sounds most like something from Baobab or Buena Vista, but the greater album has important
differences, most notably the prominence of trumpet (which belongs to Mohamed Kaba) and the sterling solo guitar work, which is
unmistakably West African, of Sekou "Diamond Fingers" Diabate.
Kaba and Diabate are two of the four original members who make up the 12- member Bembeya Jazz band. Their re-emergence (the band's
North American tour stops in San Francisco on Aug. 3) is good news for anyone who likes some wisdom and perspective with music that
still has a fresh feel.
06/22/03
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