Dedication
Lassy King Massassy will
release his new album "Niokala So". The king has recourse
to Fanga Fing (the quiet
force), Diata Sya (the
energy ball), Djénie, Tassouma
Woyo (the dancers of Bamako Coura), Maicheur
B, Kisto Dem (the energy ball),
Sadio Sidibé (the rising star
de Biriko), the Zion B. (the ambassadors
of the ghetto), the Cool Girls and the
Tata Pound (the large calibre). A beautiful
feast in prospect at the palace of culture particularly when you know
hat the hit “Babayo” is all the rage presently. We’ll
come back to it.
Habib
Koité Live
Habib Koité
(best artist of West Africa at the Kora Awards, “Chevalier de
l'ordre des arts et lettres" of the French republic), will dedicate
his double live album on 12/12/03 at the cultural space Bouna located
at the place of the old airport ACI 2000. “Fôly"
is a panorama of very rich and varied repertoire. When a lot of artists
have chosen to try to conquer Europe and America by mixing their music
with occidental sonorities and others are doing their best to perpetuate
traditional music in a rigorous manner, Habib
Koité chose his own way, impregnated of tradition of his
country and well inscribed in his time. All along his career strong
of 3 CDs and countless concerts around the world, Habib developed
his personal way of playing guitar and one can hear influence of his
country and of other musical style, even Cuban or flamenco sounds.
There are also samples of traditional instruments in his music such
as tamani,
balafon and
n’goni.
The arrangements enhance the value of his way of singing.
It’s on stage that the guitar virtuoso reveals itself. This
is the main reason of this CD recorded in Nederland, Italy, Switzerland
and Germany. Booking: CCF – Mali k7 – Bouna or at 674
28 95, 637 61 12, 673 79 95 and 679 01 03
Yèrèdon
Koko Dembélé
is back with a new album entitled "Yèrèdon".
Recorded at the studio JBZ of Abidjan, "Yèrèdon"
has ten tracks. "Yèrèdon" will be put on sale
in Mali by Malik7 before the end of the year. You’ll soon have
a foretaste of this album on the radios. We‘ll come back to
it in our next editions.
What
do they become?
“What do they become” is a new column of your news magazine.
Every two months, we’ll make a close-up on the ancient glory
of Malian music. For this first number, we chose Harouna
Barry even if he has not totally broken with the environment.
Harouna
Barry, Artist. The vocation of music
Atypical saxophone player, composer, arranger, Harouna
Barry is one of the thinking head of Malian music. After a long
career serving the state, he now decided to devote to the youth while
helping his companions to live their retirement.
“I’m teacher by formation and artist by vocation”
repeats one of the sacred monsters of Malian music Harouna
Barry. This confession translates all the passion of the man who
can legitimately say that he was born an artist without anyone shooting
to vanity because his artistic talent is innate. His trip is totally
atypical because he’s not from the lot of the “Cubans”
of Mali. But he has nothing to long for from them.
“I have always been attracted by music and I learned how
to play several instruments without the help of anybody”
said the maestro who spent 35 years serving the nation and who made
the fortune and the reputation of the National
Badema of Mali. The natural gift of the artist permitted him to
teach the instrument to his comrades. Teaching that was made with
rudimentary means such as tins, old kettles. He remembers that some
learned to play percussion by beating on their thighs.
The first formation of Harouna
Barry was the Askia Jazz, a band
created by the students of the school Askia Mohamed in 1960. In 1962,
he creates the Rônier Jazz with
the Taras. Teacher of French and geography,
Harouna is transferred in Gao at the end of his formation (1964-65).
One year layer, he goes back to the land of his ancestors, Kayes.
His talent, ingenuity and musical ambition permitted him to illustrate
himself and to become the director of the orchestra “the
Goffé Star” of Kayes. It’s there that he
learned saxophone to take up a challenge. “The ancient always
criticized us saying that there were not enough wind instruments in
our orchestra. I then decided one day to try the saxophone. My comrades
were seduced by the first notes so I never stopped since then”
he remembers. Nobody ever teach him how to play an instrument. He
says that he has spiritual fathers at the saxophone such as Tidiane
Koné (Rail
Band), Fela Kuti (Nigeria) and Manu
Dibango (Cameroon).
While being the director of the Goffé
Star, Harouna Barry
was appealed to in 1975 by Boncana
Maïga and Kalil Traoré
to join the band “l’As Marabias”
which needed a talented and experimented saxophonist. The band was
formed by the Cubans of the Malian music. That’s who they rub
shoulders with Boncana, Kalil, Bah Tapo, Baba Traoré, Amadou
Bâh, Alou Traoré, Dramane Coulibaly, Issa Falaba Traoré...
after a brief passage as the artistic director of the National
Instrumental Ensemble of Mali (1985-1986), Harouna
Barry was recalled to direct the National
Badema of Mali; responsibility that he assumed until 2001. During
this year, he made his rights to retirement prevail after 35 of good
and loyal service.
And yet,
Harouna is not old yet. Although his 59 years old, he says to everybody
that he is only 18 years old. “You get old only in the head
and I’m mentally still very young”. Since his retirement,
Harouna founded the orchestra “Les Barons"
with some of his comrades such as Ferdinand Coulibaly. A band equipped
with instruments by the ancient president Alpha Oumar Konaré.
“This comforted me a lot. If I hadn’t managed to reconvert
myself in this way, I would have become crazy, I wouldn’t have
understand to be given up after having work so hard for my homeland”
explains the knight of national order of the merit. In his opinion,
music brought him the confidence and the esteem of the youth. “Today,
I’m able to make any musician move at any hour toward anywhere.
It’s extremely important. No fortune can bring to a man such
confidence” he said.
Even in his retirement, Harouna
Barry continues to put his experience at the service of stars
such as Haïra Arby and the youth
in a hall that he occupies at the house of the youth (Maison des jeunes).
“He’s entirely devoted to youth, polite and available;
Harouna teaches a lot of things to lead an artistic career. And he
doesn’t ask for anything in return. It proves that he has love
and passion for what he does” says a young female singer.
“It’s urgent today to initiate the young people to
our dances to avoid their prostitution. We are loosing our manner
of dancing because of new dances from other where. They are about
to suffocate so it’s time to act”. Waiting for the
means to realise this project, Harouna is continuing his musical experience
with ADS, Soufountera,
François Dembélé
(promoter of Santoro/Percussion). His prestige is becoming bigger
and the maestro largely merits it.
