good african artists or groups

fretless Bob · #1 05-11-2006, 03:13 PM

I have been listening to so much Bona lately and although i know he is a rarety i love the sound and pulse of the music that he makes and i also love Graceland by paul simon.

So any one got any sugestion of any other music in a similar style?

Dave

damonsmith · #2 05-11-2006, 03:17 PM

You could also check out Johnny Dyani, a great South African bassist. He might be a more raw, but he was amazing.

stretch80 · #3 05-11-2006, 03:24 PM

There is a big flowing river of African music you are about to step into! Great! A few quick thoughts -- there's much much more beyond these (I'm no expert, just a fan)

-- Amadou & Mariam (currently working in France, but from Mali originally
-- Oumou Sangare: also from Mali, and amazing singer, with great grooves on her record.
-- Bakithi Kumalo -- is the bassist on Graceland - plays with many people - you probably already know this!
-- King Sunny Ade -- the king of Nigerian juju music -- many overlapping guitars and percussion.

I'll stop there -- I'm sure others will pitch in with more.

Bassic83 · #4 05-11-2006, 03:25 PM

I opened for the Bhundu Boys in the mid-80s, they were great! Check them out if you can.

frstr8dmusician · #5 05-11-2006, 03:51 PM

If you like African-flavored-Fusion. I would highly recommend Sixun. With Paco Sery (Cameroon) on Drums & the incredible Michel Alibo on bass. They just came out with a live CD & DVD for their 25th Anniversary reunion. These guys will blow your mind.
Sites like AbstractLogix.com or AudiophileImports.com carry their stuff.

Bona is the King but Cameroon has produced some of the finest Bass Players in the world. you can also check out Jean Luc Ponty who is French and has a Bass Player from Cameroon who actually used to be in a Bass trio with Richard Bona. His name is Guy Nsangue. A bad MF. Ponty is French but plays a lot of African music. You can easily find a DVD of him on Amazon.

I hope that helps.

Woodchuck · #6 05-11-2006, 05:35 PM

Duh, Fela Kuti!!!!!!
Also, Keziah Jones' album Black Orpheus.

rontalsaurus · #7 05-11-2006, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woodchuck

Duh, Fela Kuti!!!!!!

Yeah, I'll second that in a major way. If you're not familiar with Fela, you MUST go buy some this minute. I recommend anything with his Afrika '70 band (Opposite People happens to be my favorite album).

King Sunny Ade as was mentioned earlier.

Ali Farka Toure

Baaba Male

Angelique Kidjo

Guy Nsangue is an insanely talented bass player, as mentioned above.

There's tons of variety in "African" music, as can be expected when you try to lump an entire continent of a bazillion different cultures into one category. It's definitely worth spending some time looking into it. SOme of it will jive with you, some won't. I keep learning about more and more styles and groups and it totally blows me away.
I took some lessons this past summer with Leo Traversa and was exposed to a lot of new rhythms beyond the Fela/Afrobeat stuff I had known previously. It really opened my mind. This **** can be REALLY HARD TO PLAY as well as the rhythms can get very tricky. I had a nice list of people to check out fom Leo, but I've since lost it...

This would make for a great thread on its own, "Afrobeat and Afropop"

jeff_bass28 · #8 05-11-2006, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woodchuck

Duh, Fela Kuti!!!!!!
Also, Keziah Jones' album Black Orpheus.

Can't leave out Fela's son, Femi!

rontalsaurus · #9 05-11-2006, 06:07 PM

As long as we're talking Afrobeat, might as mention Antibalas as well.
They've gotten some flack for being "posieurs", but, I've seen them a few times and they're ****ing awesome at what they do. I've listened to a ton of Fela, and I feel pretty comfortable recommending Antibalas. Their latest album tries to push boundaries a bit more than stay true to roots-Afrobeat, as they should! But, in concert they're just a smoking Afrobeat groove machine.

jeff_bass28 · #10 05-11-2006, 06:18 PM

I'd say Lucky Dube, but the 1 CD I have kinda stunk...

DWBass · #11 05-11-2006, 06:20 PM

Manu Dibango
Hugh Masekela
Oliver Mtukudzi
Check out Africa Straight Ahead & Smooth Africa over at Heads Up Records

Also, if you can find it, there was a sequel to Superfly (Superfly TNT) and that soundtrack was done entirely by an African Funk Soul band named Osibisa.

frstr8dmusician · #12 05-11-2006, 06:37 PM

True, there is a lot of variety in African Music.
I agree, Angelique Kidjo(Togo) has great pop beats. Real Funky!
Baba Maal (Senegal) kind of Raggae-ish. Really nice too.
And don't forget Youssou Ndour (Senegal), Mory Kante (Mali), Salif Keita(Mali) etc... All great Afro-Pop Artists.

All the folks talked about in this thread are awesome.
However, based on your preferences, you might have to go through a lot to find what you are looking for.

I have to say though, If you are looking something that compares to Richard Bona's Bass playing, rythm and harmonic complexity, you are going to have to go with something a bit Jazzier than some of the artists were mentionned earlier.

One thing is sure there is a mine out there for music lovers because African music is all about the Groove.

Actually, Here is a link to some samples of different styles of African Music by a band based in New York: http://www.soulsearchproductions.com...anbluenote.htm
Some are cover tunes and some are originals. This is a Promo page. I would however recommend buying the CD from them http://AfricanBlueNote.com. As you well know Artists gotta make a living. ;-)

For the record, my favorite is "Full Time". Listen to the Bass & Drums...
And no, this is not my Band. I only wish I could play like that :-)

Hmmm... I like the idea of an Afro-Pop/Afro-Jazz forum on TalkBass.

frstr8dmusician · #13 05-11-2006, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DWBass

Manu Dibango
Hugh Masekela
Oliver Mtukudzi
Check out Africa Straight Ahead & Smooth Africa over at Heads Up Records

Also, if you can find it, there was a sequel to Superfly (Superfly TNT) and that soundtrack was done entirely by an African Funk Soul band named Osibisa.

Yes my Friend. These folks are what I am talking about. Real Awesome!

jeff_bass28 · #14 05-11-2006, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frstr8dmusician

True, there is a lot of variety in African Music.
I agree, Angelique Kidjo(Togo) has great pop beats. Real Funky!

She's alright, but I just can not listen to her "Oremi" disc without cracking up when it gets to "Itche Koutche."

frstr8dmusician · #15 05-11-2006, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff_bass28

She's alright, but I just can not listen to her "Oremi" disc without cracking up when it gets to "Itche Koutche."

I know what you mean Brother

you unfortunately have to go through some of that to find the good ones.

**Blackbird** · #16 05-11-2006, 09:59 PM

Having played in a west african band, I've been lucky to meet a few great performers and even get a gig on occasion.

Check out Zé Manel from Guinea Bissau. I've been lucky enough to play in his band a couple times.

http://www.zemanel.com/

Also check out Samba Ngo, another african musician who's based here in the bay area. He's got albums out on compass records, IIRC.

http://www.samba-ngo.com/

I'll sheepishly add the west african music project I did years ago. I can send you a cd if you're interested.

http://felyproductions.com/

jerry · #17 05-11-2006, 10:10 PM

There is so much great African music and the bass almost always rules! Ismael Lo is one of my favorite singers! As mentioned Manu Dibango and Salif Keita are great, I'm really partial to Salif's releases on Mango records........great grooves!

Dr. Cheese · #18 05-11-2006, 10:23 PM

I would recommend checking out the late South African bassist, Sipho Gumede. His CDs are on www.sheer.co.za
Another impressive South African bassist is Musa Manzini.
His CD can be found on www.click2music.co.za

Actually just go to www.sheer.co.za for info on both bassists I mentioned.

Woodchuck · #19 05-12-2006, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DWBass

Also, if you can find it, there was a sequel to Superfly (Superfly TNT) and that soundtrack was done entirely by an African Funk Soul band named Osibisa.

I have one of their cd's. For some reason I always thought they were South American. Don't ask me why, I just thought that.

Richard Lindsey · #20 05-12-2006, 07:23 AM

There's a wealth of great music out of Africa, and as rontalsaurus wisely pointed out, there are lots of different styles--you can no more generalize about what "African" music is than you can generalize about what "American" or "European" music is.

Lots of great suggestions so far. You could also check out:

Youssou N'Dour
Papa Wemba
Samite
Mory Kante
The late Franco
Tabu Ley Rochereau
Obo Addy
Africando (sort of West Africa meets salsa)
Loketo
Thomas Mapfumo