Habib Koité & Eric Bibb - Brothers in Bamako - Blues - Mali - Usa - 2012

 

The charismatic Malian singer and guitarist Habib Koité and the American bluesman Eric Bibb unite their traditions and virtuosity in Brothers in Bamako, a "transatlantic blues" that unites the music of Mali with the American blues tradition.

Habib Koité is one of the best trained and versatile musicians in Mali, with a charismatic and endearing voice and an enviable "griot" lineage. Eric Bibb is an African American bluesman raised in a heritage where folk and gospel also had a lot to contribute to his musical language.

Beyond the fact that their respective cultural and family traditions already predestined them to understand each other, the encounter between the two transcends origins and ancestors to draw a panorama of perfect contemporaneity. And the vehicle has been a work with an unpremeditated simplicity of approach: thirteen songs presented strictly acoustically, warmly bathed in their voices (alternating in a fraternal way) and subtly wrapped in the wonderful aromas offered by the local percussion of Mali (when they are not the ones who carry the rhythm by beating the wood of their guitars).

A sincere will to understand and the existence of common references make musical communication flow in a rich and natural way. Beautifully performed tracks like "On My Way To Bamako", "L.A." and "Nani Le", and versions such as "Blowin´ In The Wind" by Bob Dylan (based on banjo and ukulele), or "Foro Bana" (a Timbuktu blues that Koité had already recorded with his group Bamada in 1998) , make the album a delight for the ears. 

Tracks list:

01. On My Way To Bamako

02. L.A.

03. Touma Ni Kelen / Needed Time

04. Tombouctou

05. We Don´t Care

06. Sen Us Brighter Days

07. Nani Le

08. Khafolé

09. With My Maker I Am One

10. Foro Bana

11. Mami Wata

12. Blowin´ In the Wind

13. Goin´ Down the Road Feelin´ Bad