Afrocubism

Description

In 1996, Nick Gold, the head of World Circuit, put together a “supergroup” of Cuban and Malian musicians so they could record in Havana. But because of a story of lost passports, the Africans never made it there, and the Cubans ended up recording the Buena Vista Social Club album on their own, an album that destiny would carry to worldwide success. But what about the original project? What would that interaction have been between the virtuosos of one of Africa’s most musically rich countries and their Cuban counterparts, where music draws its origins from Africa and has, in turn, greatly influenced the source continent? Today, Nick Gold has finally managed to bring together the guests originally planned, along with a lineup of Cuban and African stars, for a series of inspired sessions, and the great “lost” Afro-Cuban album finally sees the light of day, fourteen years after it was conceived. Leading the Cuban team is Eliades Ochoa, the singer-guitarist in the cowboy hat who sings Chan Chan with the Buena Vista Social Club. The two Malians, considered among the world’s finest instrumentalists, are Bassekou Kouyaté, the multi-award-winning master of the n'goni lute, and Djelimady Tounkara, the extraordinary guitarist from the Rail Band. With them are Eliades’ Grupo Patria, one of Cuba’s oldest and most beloved groups, Toumani Diabaté, the elusive kora genius, Kasse Mady Diabaté, the legendary Malian griot singer, and Lassana Diabaté, an innovator on the balafon. It was as if the musicians had held back their ideas and energy all this time, says Nick Gold, who produced the album with Jerry Boys, the sound engineer from Buena Vista Social Club. After waiting so long, everything came together remarkably easily and spontaneously. The group had never played together before, but the music burst forth and kept flowing. In five days, seventeen tracks were recorded, with all the musicians playing together live in the same room. A second session was held a few months later, and nine more tracks came out of it. The album’s title says it all: the music resembles a modernist canvas from which Cuban and African elements burst forth and bounce and intertwine happily to form an enchanting fresco. Admittedly, all this took time, but there is no doubt that AfroCubism was well worth the wait.