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"Bembeya" from Bembeya
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The Big Comeback: Guinean supergroup Bembeya Jazz returns

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Hartford Advocate, The Big Comeback: Guinean supergroup Bembeya Jazz returns >>

Bembeya Jazz

Bembeya (World Village Music)

Though we live in a world of child prodigies and pubescent pop stars, music is not necessarily a young person's game. Bembeya , the new release by the legendary Guinean dance band Bembeya Jazz, is proof that being long in the tooth doesn't get in the way of making spirited and intense music. This is the band's first new recording in 14 years, and like last year's triumphant return from oblivion by Orchestra Baobab on Specialist in All Styles , Bembeya is bound to recruit a whole new generation of fans for this group that had its golden days in the '60s and '70s. But West African pop from the period is not all the same. Many of the big bands drew on the sounds of Cuban dance bands, but Bembeya Jazz put a uniquely Guinean twist on the music, souping Cuban jazz up with traditional rhythms and melodies.

Make a list of what's impressive about this music, and it's not short. From the first track, Bembeya flaunts their skills at whipping a stately groove around in any direction they want. Many of the tunes end with a quick rhythmic switch, from a 16th-note pulse to a tricky triplet feel -- just to let listeners know who's in charge.

Three guitarists play interlocking and agile parts -- single-note runs that glide and tumble around each other. In the world of three guitars, Lynyrd Skynyrd could have picked a few pointers up from Bembeya (sacrilege, I know). On top of the expert group playing, there's some racing soloing from Sekou "Diamond Fingers" Diabate, the group's arranger. Diabate earns the name; he alternately tosses off dense raging psychedelic knots, cycling traditional phrases and wild Hawaiian slide riffs. On "Soli Au Wassoulou," the last track, Diabate turns in an aggressive solo punctuated by slow triplets that would give you time to catch your breath if you weren't busy marveling at how he folds it all into place. Then there's the deft horn section, pumping out subdued and stately lines over the guitar work. The swinging percussion and the moments of soaring griot-style singing leave it open to question which part of the band provides the backing role.

Bembeya Jazz is an Afropop powerhouse that would probably already be as well known to world music fans as Youssou N'Dour, King Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti and Salif Keita, were it not for Bembeya Jazz having been dealt a few blows in terms of political history and geography.

The band was basically formed and funded by the newly independent government of Guinea in the early 60s. Guinea's president at the time, Sekou Toure, committed his share of crimes against his people, but he was instrumental in presenting the traditional arts of Guinea, particularly music and dance, to the rest of the world. Toure made it a priority to celebrate Guinea's diverse cultural heritage, and he made Bembeya the national band in 1965. It's practically impossible to imagine having something with so much soul, funk and grace associated with an official government.

After Toure died in 1984, groups lost financial support, and Bembeya Jazz went into hibernation. It may have been a long time in the waiting, but as Kaba Salifou, the group's singer, says in the liner notes, they were just waiting for the right time to come back.

 06/26/03 >> go there
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