| Out
of the northern part of the small country of Senegal comes one
of Africa's most far-reaching voices: that of Baaba Maal. He
studied music first in Dakar and then in Paris. His music is
deeply rooted in the traditional sounds that he grew up with
but has also been influenced by American soul and Jamaican ska.
It was unusual
for someone of Baaba Maal's caste to become a musician because
he is not a griot (hereditary praise singer) but is from the
fishermen's caste. He is much revered in his home area and continues
to perform there but these are very late night shows in remote
villages where the nomadic people live - the shows may begin
at 3 a.m. and go on until daylight.
In 2001 Baaba was on an extensive European tour that began in
Brussels. The 10 British venues ranged from as far south as
Portsmouth right up to Aberdeen in the north. During the time
of the tour he was also on several radio and TV programmes,
a sign of the extent of his popularity. Baaba is frequently
selected to give talks on contemporary African issues.
Baaba Maal's
international CD releases are Djam Leelii (1989), recorded
with blind guitarist Mansour Seck (Baaba Maal's griot with whom
he has played for twenty years), Firin' in Fouta (1994),
an album that has a great variety
of sounds and gave rise to the Afro-Celt Sound
System that members of
Baaba Maal's
band (Daande Lenol) have collaborated with,
and Nomad Soul (1998)
which
has
a unique blend of traditional and modern sounds. His 2001 album
(see CDs) missing you...mi yeewnii
features Guinean Kante Manfila and, again, Mansour Seck. Look
out for Baaba Maal (2005), a box-set with an 11-track
CD, a DVD documentary |
entitled
'A Voice for Africa' and beautiful booklet, maps and information
on Senegal.
After an 8-year gap, Baaba Maal has 2 new albums
- On the Road (2008) which features
acoustic live versions of much-
loved
tracks, and a studio album Television was
released in 2009. The title track relates the impact of television
on Africa. Baaba's songs often carry strong messages such as
women's rights and in 2001 he was involved in a project with
the UN on raising AIDS awareness.
Some notable
projects Baaba Maal has contributed to are the global fusion
'1 Giant Leap', Manu
Dibango's 'Lion of Africa' celebration in 2004,
and the tribute to Fela Kuti, Red
Hot + Riot (2005) . Since 2005 he has put on a festival
called 'The Blues Of The River' (Les Blues du Fleuve) with participation
oflarge numbers of people from his home area.
Very significantly Baaba is an ambassador for both Sight Savers
International, a charity that offers cataract surgery, and for
Nelson Mandela's 46664 project and
he is also UN Youth Emissary. For
all the latest information and features visit Baaba
Maal. |
Baaba
Maal 
Click
on the CD cover to hear part of the track 'miyaabele'