Western African CD Reviews

 Listening to DANCA MA MI, the great new dance cd from Cabo Verde's Maria de Barros, made me wish I had never given up my accordion lessons, and that I had mastered my mother's ukulele, which is descended from a Portuguese instrument featured prominently on DANCA MA MI.

 Unlike her godmother  the famous Cabo Verdian Mornz singer Cesaria Evora, Maria de Barros features many upbeat tunes in the Fununa rhythm in her repertoire.

 Due to the very poor financial conditions in Cabo Verde, Maria has spent most of her life outside the islands, living in the West African countries of Senegal and Mauritania as well as among the large Cabo Verde expatriate community in New England, then on to Los Angeles, where she absorbed various Latin styles of music as well as the ability to speak and sing in Spanish.

 Maria obviously has an open ear and open mind, combined with a love of her Cabo Verde roots. An experienced listener absorbing DANCA MA MI can easily tell her artist must be from Cabo Verde, but so many different shades are brought in from French, African and Latin American influences to make for simply wonderful infusions and differences.

 Cesaria Evora must be very proud of her god daughter: DANCA MIA MI is Maria's second cd to hit these shores, and is even better than her first effort NHA MUNDO, which was also quite good.

 A bright future is predicted.

1. Deesso by Vieux Diop
2. Need Somebody 
    by Francis Mbappe & FM Tribe
3. Show Me the Way by Wassalou

   Vieux Diop is a West African kora player and singer who walks the musically rewarding path between the traditional and the modern, with ancient acoustic instruments such as the balafon, the dusunguni, the kora and the djembe meeting trap drums, saxophones and electric keyboards.

 Attempts at this type of mix sometimes end up a mess, with modern instruments totally dominating the traditional African elements: not so with Vieux Diop.

 DEESSO is the third cd we have heard from Vieux Diop, and it's just as good or better than his two previous releases on Triloka.

 DEESSO is on a label new to us.  The tunes are a mix of originals written by Vieux Diop himself: adaptations of tunes from Bambara, Woloff and Manding folklore.

 In some cases Diop will take a Bambara folk tune and write new Wolof lyrics to it. None of the lyrics are in English or any other European language.

 One of the original tunes, 'Maret', has a bass line (one of only two tunes featuring a bass) and vocal chorus reminiscent of some of the work on Paul Simon's GRACELAND cd.

 The instruments vary tremendously from cut to cut, from only two instruments to a kicking six-piece group.

 Diop's music ebbs and flows like a pleasant and occasionally exciting trip: fun, but never scary.

 Vieux Diop himself plays several instruments at least two types of drums and two string instruments with other percussion instruments: he should have a long, rewarding recording career if DEESSO is any indication of his trend.

 Reading the liner notes to Wassalou's cd SHOW ME THE WAY, I got the impression Wassalou makes their living playing at a Disney theme park: probably the Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida.

 For this reason, perhaps, they play very little original music and instead play the big hits of famous African artists such as Salif Keita and Mory Kante.

 Although not quite as exciting as the originals, Wassalou covers are quite credible: and the band must be wonderful live. It would be hard to sit still watching them, if SHOW ME THE WAY is any indication.

 Wassalou is a region in Mali famous for its music, particularly its female vocalists: the group Wassalou doesn't let the region down.

 Think of all the things you may have liked about modern African music over the last thirty years, combine that with some of your favorite American r&b concerts over the last forty years, and you start to get a picture of the music of Francis Mbappe & FM Tribe on NEED SOMEBODY.

 Francis is a bass player and his funky fender bass style drives the band, always in the groove with music primarily for dancing and listening, not meditation - yet still music with a message.

 Occasionally his sound reminds me of the great Manu Dibango of Cameroon, who helped revolutionize African music in the 1960s and 70s: so no surprise that Dibango guest stars on cut 13, 'Dikalo Dikalo'.

 Looking at the lineup of musicians and other information in the liner notes showed a few surprises, such as David Gilmore on guitar. Most of the recording was done in New York City with a little in Paris: so much great African music is now recorded outside of Africa.

 All the tunes were written by Francis Mbappe himself: we thoroughly enjoyed each and every one; the man writes great funky dance music and his bass playing is terrific with thumb-popping tremendous slides, each note right on the money.

 Tasteful, interesting arrangements, some occasional English lyrics: this is the kind of music we should be getting on MTV and the radio.

 Check out the title song 'Need Somebody': this could have been a rock anthem if written and recorded by the Kinks, the Who or The Rolling Stones.

 If more people heard NEED SOMEBODY, most would like it: it has that crossover feel without being pretentious to the sellout fad of the moment that dominates much crossover music.

 You'll also hear touches of rock and jazz blended so skillfully into the whole dance blend: in other words, NEED SOMEBODY is a truly great recording suitable for a wide audience and essential for any definitive African music collection.

  Like so many of the great singers and musicians coming out of Africa in the last few years, Ramatou Diakite is from Mali: specifically, the Wassalou region famous for its female singers.

 Unlike some of her contemporaries, Ramatou has a quality that we appreciate a great deal: she doesn't yell or scream. Though she certainly sings with a Wassalou lilt, she isn't afraid to be subtle or to handle a vocal gently.

 There are concerts by Wassalou singers and musicians where the band consisted of an acoustic kora player and an acoustic balafon player, yet the female vocalist held a microphone into which she alternately yelled or screamed: the result was painful.  Ramatou Diakite's music is painless: I've never enjoyed a Wassalou singer more.

 Some of the music on MABA has an American influence: a mellow jazz pop sound with a blues feel. American blues harmonica ace Charlie Musselwhite even appears on at least two cuts.

 Most of the musicians are Malian expatriates (the cd was recorded in New York City), with a few Americans mixed in.

 A real surprise is the addition of Steve Gorn on Bansuri flute, giving a Mali-meets-ancient-Japan sound to one track: this is one cross-cultural fusion that really works.

 You'd think that with an ambitious project such as MABA there would be some duds, but no: all eight tracks are a joy to listen to.

 If you tried Wassalou music before, maybe you liked it - maybe you didn't: either way, try Ramatou Diakite's MABA: you'll love it.

 For many years music fans have been wondering what country would be the next to be discovered (musically) by the general public. Twenty years ago it was south Africa, thanks to Paul Simon; several years later it was Cuba, as represented by the Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon.

 Westerners have been discovering the music of the Manding countries for years now, but one of those countries, Mali, seems to be getting the most attention as musicians of different styles keep getting 'discovered', and the good folks at Putumayo have been emphasizing Malian musicians over other African musicians for at least six years, profiling both individual artists such as Habib Koite and anthologies such as MALI TO MEMPHIS.

 Now, at last, we have PUTUMAYO PRESENTS MALI: a wonderful cd that shows off many or most of the musical styles of Mali.

 Some fans will be disappointed that Ali Farka Toure, the great guitarist who plays in a style similar (but not the same) to John Lee Hooker, isn't on MALI, but fear not: Toure's been a big influence on other musicians in his area, so his sound is well represented.

 What makes Mali different or unique from its neighbors is the fact that it extends north into the southern Sahara, so the music of the dessert mixes with the sounds of the Manding south in many interesting ways.

 Musicians on MALI vary from hit-makers of the 1960s like Boubacar Traore (a big influence of Ali Farka Toure) to the latest young stars like Tinariwen.

 Whether Mali becomes the next rage or not, Putumayo's MALI will become one of the essential African anthologies of all time and is a 'must' for any definitive African library collection.

 African cds can be divided into three general groupings: modern, traditional, and my personal favorite: those artists who try to blend the two, sometimes radically different, elements. Some artists start out traditional and get more and more modern to the point a listener from outside may not recognize the music as African at all. Some musicians have gone through this whole scenario only to go back all the way to acoustic traditional.

 Balla Tounkara is one of those who blends ancient and modern, constantly experimenting and changing his sound with every other song.

 Although Balla plays kora, he's not afraid to try the most modern styles: his latest single mixes rap/hip hop with a lyrical worldview without betraying his African roots.

 His cd YAYOROBA is not all that radical but the beats and the accompaniment keep changing.

 Balla sings on every song, but he occasionally lets someone else take over that job: check out cut 4, the title song, and the female vocal of Sali Oyugi.

 The most amazing thing to me while listening to YAYOROBA for the fifth time was reading the liner notes and finding out that it was recorded in the USA with Malian expatriates and a few American musicians, all of whom Balla met in the USA.

 He came to this country knowing no English and without friends: this is his third cd, and most realized.

 'Incredible' is the word for Balla Tounkara's confidence and talent: he produces his own cds with no record company money, yet the quality of the recording is totally first-rate.

 Balla Tounkara is now one of my favorite musicians, and YAYOROBA is one of my favorite all-time cds.

 Mamadou Sidibe is a musician/singer/songwriter from Wassalou Mali, married to an Afro-Cuban salsa musician/singer from the USA: they now make their home in Berkeley, California.

 One of the things that makes NACAMA interesting is the way the two singers blend or alternate Bambara (Mamadou's native language) with English. Mamadou plays the Kameln'goni  (an eight-string version of the n'goni, which he invented) to accompany the vocals.

 The overall sound on NACAMA still sounds traditional to most Western ears, as it's primarily acoustic and uses traditional Malian instruments.

 For the most part the songs are low-key, but some are danceable; just not pounding beats, but more subtle.

 At times the n'goni sounds like a cross between a banjo and a guitar (yes, there used to be an instrument made in the USA known as a banjo guitar, but Mamadou's n'Goni only sounds like that once in a while).

 The use of repetitive phrases, typical of much African music, hits home even more when sung in English.

 Of course, much of the Afro-American music from the US's Southern states used to sound like this: the only contemporary singer/songwriters who uses this technique today (outside of Africa) seems to be Van Morrison. If you're not in the mood this can be off-putting; but if you're in the groove, the effect is very powerful.

 Vanessa has a very pleasing, seductive voice which helps listener appreciation even more; as does the balafon (marimba).

 No drum kit or synth drums; just a single djembe (West African hand drum), which sounds perfect for the cuts on NACAMA.

 A powerful introduction to a powerful duo!

 Lobi Traore is one of these musicians, and his MALI BLUE sound is an amalgam of Northern Mali guitar style and blues influences. We even have a very bluesy harmonica on some cuts, while others sound completely African with traditional instruments such as the n'goni and calabash.

 I love the way the African and blues sounds keep fading in and out in various ways, and though some cuts are blusier than others, none are totally in the blues tradition: the blues influences are used more for accenting the basic Mali sound, and never take over.

 There are 14 tunes which were done at four different recording sessions in 1990, 1994, 1995 and 1998.

 Cuts 3,4,6 and 12 were produced by the esteemed Ali Farka Toure, who plays matchbox on cut 12, the hard-driving 'Fatouma Be'.  This cut drives as hard as anything Willie Dixon or Howling Wolf ever came up with, while other cuts give you time to breathe.

 Mali is the biggest thing in world music today, and Lobi Traore is helping to lead the charge: get on board or get run over.

1.  Rumba Congolaise  by El Congo
2. Je Chanterai Pour Toi by Boubacar Traore
3. Dunya by Malouma

   Do you miss the golden days of Congolese rumba? Wish you could hear the divine Docteur Nico playing guitar just as he did in the 1950s and 1960s with classic Congolese bands from Brazzaville and Kinshasa?

 Now you can...it's the best best thing : the cd  RUMBA CONGLAISE, with Congolese bands playing in the classic style with musicians who played with and studied under the masters such as Jean Bosco Mwenda and of course the immortal Dr. Nico.

 Nine of the cuts on RUMBA CONGOLAISE are by the Rumbanella Band, formed in 1986 to keep the 1960s style alive.

 The group leader is Madou Lebon Muloway, who played in Jean Bosco Mwenda's band for a full decade.

 The lead guitarist is Kankonde Joseph, known as 'serpent', who played in Dr. Nico's band. He sounds so much like the late lamented Dr. Nico, you'd think the Doctor were still alive - and in a way he still is, though his music.

 Group leader Madou plays guitar and sings  like a young Rocherou: the only thing that tells you this is a recent recording is its crisp clarity.

 Wendo Kolosoy and his band Victoria Bakolo Miziki also participates in various guises melded with the Rumbanella Band. Wendo sings a new version of his 1948 classic 'Marie Louse', the most unusual cut on Rumba Congolaise and a personal favorite is cut 9, 'Bounsana', sung by Antoine Moundand who plays a kalimba - but not in an ancient African style; in the urban style of Congolese rumba. Awesome!

 The more I listen to this cut, the more I think that it must be the best - and if you like this, try cut 12, 'Wendo Likembe', where Wendo sings accompanied by Moundanda on the kalimba (known as a likembe in the Congo, or mbira in Zimbabwe).

 I'd live to hear a fusion of the kalimba with the full band, similar to some of the music coming out of Zimbabwe by Thomas Mapfumo; but with that Congolese beat.

 Rumba Congolaise closes out with one of Dr. Nico's biggest hits from the 195s 'Lage et L'Amour', sung in French.

 El Congo is the next best thing to a time machine: I hope the band tours California soon!

 Boubacar Traore's JE CHANTERAI POUR TOI is actually the soundtrack of a film by Jacques Sarasin: it's more of a documentary than a Hollywood epic.

 The film follows the legendary Boubacar Traore around Mali as he visits old haunts and tells the story of his life, jamming with other musicians such as Ali Farka Toure, who owes a great deal of his style to the pioneering work of Boubacar Traore.

 The recording quality falls between above average field recording and a modern studio production: it's very alive and immediate.

 The number of musicians changes from cut to cut, from solo guitar with soft percussion on a gourd to two guitars, to a traditional Malian acoustic band featuring two percussionists (gourds or Calabasas again) with balafon (marimba) and two ngoni players (a ngoni is similar in appearance to a kora but has far fewer strings - usually six - while a kora may have as many as 21 strings).

 One song on JE CHANTERAI POUR TOI is not from the film; it was recorded at a Paris concert by the great female Malian singer Rokia Traore with Boubacor sitting in. There's no showboating on this cut and - not anywhere else on the whole cd.  Actually all the singers and musicians show great respect for each others' artistry: nobody tries to outshine anyone else - a rare ting among musicians and singers.

 The liner notes booklet is well done: nearly twenty pages with lots of photos, including some mind-blowing photos of Boubacar early in his career dressed as a rocker with a solid body guitar!

 The last two cuts on JE CHANTERAI POUR TOI are vintage recordings from 1963. One, 'Mali Twist', became his first big hit and celebrated Mali's then-recent independence from colonialism.

 It's hard to believe this senior citizen with his soft haunting voice used to be a rock star; but if you listen carefully, his 'rock' is just a simple field version of what he does now, pumped up a little bit to get people dancing.

  Boubacar was a great Malian musician in the early 1960s, and he's a great international star now.

  When I first laid eyes on Malouma's DUNYA, I thought there must be some mistake: this can't be an African cd: this woman looks European with white skin and red hair.

 Then the music starts: what's this? It's not quite like anything I've heard before. Then the vocal changes: there's that guttural trill in the throat used by so many North African and Middle Eastern singers. 

 Malouma comes from Mauritania, a West African country, that's also North African in scope: the land where black meets white, where the Near East meets Africa. There's a photo of Malouma with her brother Mohamed, who plays tidnir (a small traditional guitar-like instrument) on cut 12: he has olive skin and looks Egyptian.

 Malouma's band, The Sahel Hawl Blues, existed before she met them: they were looking outside Mauritania for inspiration as well as listening to different musical styles of the various ethnic groups throughout Mauritania.

 Malouma was born into a traditional Griot family and was an accomplished professional singer at a young age; then in her teens she began listening to music from all over North Africa and the Middle East. After some time out for marriage and children, Malouma came back as a forward-thinking feminist songwriter as well as a singer and musician: joining with the very experimental Sahel Hawl Blues Band was the perfect ticket for inventing a new modern, but still deep-rooted, Mauritanian music.

 The young listeners took to it right away, but the older folks took longer: a woman saying such things in a Muslim society? Scandalous! But today Malouma is considered something of a national treasure.

 Most Americans may consider her music slightly strange - it takes a while to get used to - but there's much of great value here: some blues, some avant guard progressive guitar mixed with traditional Mauritanian music, acoustic instruments blended with electric in ways we are just not used to - but it's done intelligently and provocatively.

 There are 12 cuts, and they're all different: screaming guitar meets gentle rhythms, then an older rock/jazz style guitar over percolating rhythm with  girl singers changing over and over like a soul rock band, but different. 

  In the 1960s so many British and American bands tried to do what these people are doing: a great East meets West fusion of diverse elements. Malouma knows what she's doing.

   Markus James really seems to have found his voice and calling when he went to Mali and hooked up with musicians in the Northern part of the country: it's here more than anywhere else in Africa that the roots of American blues seem to show. 

 Much of the music in this area reminds listeners of the music of the Mississippi Delta region. Mali's most famous musician is now Ali Farka Toure, who gets compared to John Lee Hooker (of whom Ali is a fan: he related to Hooker's music the instant he first heard it).

 Now along comes Markus James, American white man steeped in the blues and with a strong love of the music of other cultures.

 In the past James blended rock and other styles with the music of India and a real smorgasbord of sound, but now it's the Mississippi Delta, with its own musical ancestor Mother Mali.

 This is one terrific combination that blends like a hand with the perfect-fitting glove.

 James has a haunting vocal/songwriting style which combined with his slashing slide guitar and sympathetic/intuitive accompaniment of the traditional Malian musicians, makes for a very satisfying brew indeed.

 Besides Markus James on guitar and vocals, the band features Hamma Sankare on calabash (large dried gourd played with sticks like a drum kit) and vocalist Hassi Sare on Njarka violin (replacing the blues band's harmonica) and vocals, and lastly Solo Sdibe on kamele n'goni (an instrument similar to, but not as complex as, a kora. The n'goni gives a sound similar to an oud or guitar). Solo also sings.

 Most of the members of James' group have been together a few years now, and have really honed their sound.

 The recordings of TIMBUKTOUBAB were made over a three-year period from 2001-2004. It shows from the very beginning that these musicians just clicked.

 Other musicians from America and England have and will continue to record with Malian musicians: for a blues-oriented musician it's a complete natural. 

 Markus James is the first person we've heard to make a somewhat permanent group out of this effort. To say that it works well is an understatement: TIMBUKTOUBAB kicks.

 James' group is the greatest, and just keeps getting better.

 We've seen the group live and the show was awesome.

 TIMBUKTOUBAB is a 'must have' cd for anyone interested in blues, African music, or just good music in general.

 Mamadou Diabate comes from a long line of traditional musicians and storytellers known as Jalis or Griots. His father, his uncles, and his famous cousin Toumani Diabate play the 21-string kora: a marvelous string instrument which has qualities of both the harp family and the lute family - which includes the guitar.

 All of this gave Mamadou a terrific background for learning his craft: a calling he's been honing since childhood.

 Mamadou has played with many famous musicians both in his native Mali and throughout the USA.

 For his second cd under his own name, Mamadou chose to do something rather daring for a man whose cousin Toumani is considered by many to be the best kora player in the world, and that is a solo recording.

 Yes, on BEHMANKA Mamadou plays completely unaccompanied by other musicians: no place to hide; every note is right out there for all the critical listeners to hear - a brave move for sure.

 Mamadou chose tunes from the tradition of the Kita area where he was raised, as well as from the musical traditions of other kora playing regions, both inside and outside of Mali.

 I'm glad to report that Mamadou pulls it off very well indeed: BEHMANKA is one of the most pleasant and inspiring kora recordings I've heard in nearly thirty years of listening to kora recordings.

 Congratulations to Mamadou Diabate, who's name now ranks up there among the best: we eagerly look forward to more recording from this kora master.

 Although Jeli Moussa Sissoko is from Mali his kora playing isn't restricted to strictly Malian compositions, as many great kora pieces derive from the Gambia and other neighboring countries, part of the great Manding empire.

 The first cut, 'Bamba Lete', is a good example: it sounds very familiar, as many kora players use it as a starting point  then build their own tunes from it.

 The same can be said of cut 2, 'Sirifo Haidara': the tunes sound familiar, then new, then familiar again, back and forth. This approach is similar to that of all Indian classical music as well as all folk musics, including blues.

 Listening to BALLAKE and reading the wonderful liner notes is like taking a college course on the history of the kora and the history of Malian music: the liner notes alone are worth the price of the cd.

 Jeli Moussa Sissoko is a true master musician: he has toured the world and recorded with many famous musicians and singers.

 BALLAKE is the first cd we've seen under his own name. All the compositions are acoustic instrumentals: very beautiful and gentle without being so gentle they put you to sleep.

 Cut 13, the bonus track 'Talamba/Kedendo', is totally different: this is from the cd MANDINGO FESTIVAL and features a full-on electric dance band with vocals.

 You'd better not have fallen asleep when this tune comes on; this is a dance tune Mali style: very rootsy, but still kicking.

 BALLAKE is a very important cd in the history of West African music. students will be referring to it for many years to come: it's a cornerstone 'must' for any serious West African collection.

1. Kote by Idrissa Soumaoro
2. The Balladeer: Best Of by Ismael Lo

  Anyone who has listened to African music in the last fifteen years or more will immediately recognize 'Dibi Dibi Rek', the first cut on Ismael Lo's BALLADEER: BEST OF cd: this song took the world by storm: so modern, so rock - but so traditional and folk-rooted at the same time.

 An acoustic harmonica using short punctuating folksy riffs with a screaming but held-in controlled electric guitar: "Wow! What is that?" was the response from the music world.

 Ismael Lo, the balladeer from Senegal, West Africa, followed his hit with song after song, becoming a true international star and even recording a duet with Marianne Faithful (which is included on this cd).

 Now we have sixteen of these glorious tracks on one compilation: no more looking all over for hard-to-find cds on different labels.

 Even an avid prior fan might find new material missed in the past: upon checking the three Lo cds in my collection, I realized I only had nine of the sixteen songs on this BEST OF collection.

 Kote is a style of music which Idrissa Soumaoro has invented: if you listen to it, you can hear strong Malian roots, but it's not quite like any other Malian music we've heard: that may be because Idrissa has lived in England for years and has degrees from two British universities.

  As with guitarists from Northern Mali such as Ali Farka Toure, there's a touch of the blues in the music on KOTE: we even get some very good harmonica workouts from Pascal Mikaelian.

 Other guest musicians who fill out his sound include Francois Breant on accordion, Nicholas Gueret on flute, and Manu Galbin on guitar (I believe Manu is the guitarist playing 'slide guitar').

 Idrissa's regular group consists of himself on lead vocals and guitar, guitarist Bakary Gakou, two female backup vocalists, and a karigne player (a string/gourd instrument which can be struck or plucked: the sound is somewhere between a n'goni and a percussion instrument).

 KOTE adds a new but still familiar sound to the rainbow of Malian music. Many of the songs have a haunting quality, while the lyrics sung in Bambara attempt to teach important social lessons.

 KOTE is a subtle, pleasant sound more for listening than for dancing, yet it has a beat: it just doesn't beat you over the head with it.

 KOTE won two 'Music of the Year' awards: it deserved them.

 1. Vintage Palmwine/Highlife by Various Artists
 2. Rhythmology by Kofi Ayivor

  Kofi Ayivor is a master drummer of the Ewe people of Ghana who has traveled around the world in many different bands learning and teaching the world's rhythms. Kofi is most famous for the many years he spent as a member of Osibasa, the great British-based band composed of Caribbean and West African players.

 His own cd RHYTHMOLOGY gives the listener a good idea where Kofi Ayivor is coming from and where he is with his music today.

 RHYTHMOLOGY was recorded over a period of years, with many different line-ups of musicians: sometimes only a trio, at other times a full band with electric guitars and a horn section.

 Players are from Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and from Europe: there are so many styles, it's hard to keep up.   Kofi plays many different drums: both hand drums and stick-played drums, including a full trap kit.

 Some of the wonderful musicians heard on RHYTHMOLOGY are no longer with us, so these rare cuts become even more precious.

 The liner notes are extensive and very informative: notes are by John Collins and Kofi himself.

 I get different things from the cd with every listen: it's like repeating a course in school you really enjoyed the first time: the first time you just needed the credit; the second time and beyond, it's pure enjoyment.

 Speaking of 'firsts': the first time I listened to the delightful VINTAGE PALMWINE/HIGHLIFE cd, I was impressed not only by the quality of the musicianship, but by the clarity of the recordings.

 While listening for the third or fourth time I read through the extensive liner notes booklet: no wonder it sounds so good: these are modern recordings - sort of a 'highlife musicians unplugged' collection.  Good liner notes are worth their weight in gold, and John Collins, recording engineer/producer, has done an excellent job (as usual).

 These musicians are old enough to have learned to play the acoustic palmwine style before plugging in and playing in highlife bands.

 Most people think of Nigeria when thinking of highlife music; but highlife evolved from palmwine music in more than one place, and Ghana is as important - if not more so - than as any in the evolution of these music styles.

 Three important musicians are featured: first, 'Koo Nimo' (aka Daniel Amponsah), whom John Collins has known (and played with) for more than thirty years. The Koo Nimo guitar style is fairly sophisticated, yet superficially simple. Daniel Amponsah has studied Western classical music, jazz, and bossa nova.

 The late Kwa Mensah evolved a style of playing that mixed the two finger plucking styles and brought to Ghana (among other places) by Liberian sailors with the local Akan blues style which had evolved from indigenous playing on indigenous instruments.

 Kwa Mensah had his own acoustic band for years, but when competing bands went electric, Kwa did the opposite, abandoning highlife for the older palmwine style. These recordings by Kwa and group were done in the 1980s.

 T.O. Jazz is lead by Thomas Osei Amppoumah. T.O. Jazz got their name from going to Zaire and playing with Congolese rhumba bands: T.O. Jazz added chachas and other styles to their repertoire at that time.

 On these 1996 unplugged sessions T.O. Jazz uses the giant indigenous premprensua hand piano rather than bass guitar: I rather like the 'thunk thunk' sound: it fits in with the drum very well.   Some Caribbean bands from Jamaica and the Bahamas used a similar instrument in the 1940s.

  Students of West African music will treasure these historic recordings, while those who just want to listen to mellow acoustic music with a good beat will enjoy VINTAGE PALMWINE/HIGHLIFE, as well.