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Bembeya's "Diamond Fingers" Returs With Solo Outing
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MI2N/Music Industry News Network, Bembeya's "Diamond Fingers" Returs With Solo Outing >>
Legendary guitarist Sekou "Diamond Fingers" Diabate has spent
years as the melodic focal point of Afropop legends Bembeya Jazz.
On July 13 we will hear a new side of Diabate as hereleasesa
brand new solo effort entitled Guitar Fa, on World Village. The
record finds Diabate's inimitable, sizzling guitar work up front
among the sparse accompaniment of bass, drums, and drone,
allowing his guitar to find a true, uninterrupted voice.
The record features a slew of guest appearances from the popular '
West African singer Safiata Conde, and a foundation courtesy of
Bembeya Jazz's well-oiled rhythm section. This new CD presents
new original compositions along side some reworked
orchestrations of classic Bembeya numbers.
Bernbeva Jazz, formed at a time and place when Afro-Cuban music
resonated and possibly became the bridge between traditional
music and modern instrumentation, was certified as a national
band by Guinea's first president Sekou Toure. The band moved to
the capital, Conakry, where they performed as many as six nights
each week and felt pressure to develop the hottest spine-tingling
sounds. From this era emerged their signature four-guitar section,
the introduction of Hawaiian slide guitar, and stunning stage
performances.
Bembeya's creative director Aboubacar Demba Camara was killed
in a tragic car crash in 1973. The band was eventually able to re-
group and right before the 1984 death of President Sekou Toure,
he denationalized Bembeya (their first opportunity to operate
internationally) and gave them their own nightclub. But the '80s
saw a significant economic decline in Guinea and most of the band
members had to look outside of the Guinean music scene for their
primary livelihood.
The band's latest fierce line-up includes four members that hail
from the group's formative years, decades ago. Sekou "Diamond
Fingers" Diabate has not let up with his fiery guitar embellishments and entertaining stage antics. The strident voice of M'Bemba Camara joins Mamadou Barry on sax, Mohamed Kaba on trumpet, and Mory Mangala Conde on drums help to form the 7-piece band that will tour North America this summer.
Expect to hear the new and old Diamond Fingers cuts as he and the rest of Bembeya Jazz gear up for a North American tour this June and July. 07/01/05
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