Etienne Mbappé @ NAMM

[MixBass]

Etienne Mbappé will be playing NAMM again I believe @ the EBS booth and perhaps elsewhere in the evenings.He doesn't play the states enough and if you want to see one of the pioneers of African fusion here's a chance!.

[edubb]

favorites. I am listenening to his album right now. great stuff. There must be something in the water in Africa, so many great bassists.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by edubb

favorites. I am listenening to his album right now. great stuff. There must be something in the water in Africa, so many great bassists.

The answer is pretty simple. Rythmn is king in Africa in way that it is nowhere else, so that great sense of rythmn naturally shows up when a great African musician plays the bass.

[MixBass]

And while rhythm is king, there's a grace with which the African players play that makes it easy to hear. Since most of the styles are dance music, even when playing some crazy mbalax or bikutsi, it still flows gracefully however syncopated it may be. Whenever I visit the rhythm bible, it's always African music.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by MixBass

And while rhythm is king, there's a grace with which the African players play that makes it easy to hear. Since most of the styles are dance music, even when playing some crazy mbalax or bikutsi, it still flows gracefully however syncopated it may be. Whenever I visit the rhythm bible, it's always African music.

Rythmn is so key in African music that the rythmn is often too rich and subtle for the Western ear to truly appreciate. Great African players like Richard Bona and Baghiti Khumalo can play melodically and rythmically in a way that no one from anywhere else can really replicate, IMO. Of course, Western players do what they do superbly, but that African thing unique.

[Joebone]

Mixbass is so right about that graceful thing - I don't have his depth of knowledge in this area, but find that mid-tempo grooves in any number of African genres have a "glide" to them. I think you can also often hear it in Brazilian music, and it also exists in Salsa, but once you get past mellower forms like Son and Son Montuno, it's either harder to pull off, or harder to appreciate for those not deeply steeped in the applicable traditions.

[bass12]

I spoke with Manu Dibango's bassist once and he told me that "Western" bassists tended to be fascinated by the rhythmic side of many African bassists, while African bassists tended to be fascinated by Western bassists' grasp of harmony. A lot of the Brazilian guys I've listened to really have both sides covered nicely. Then again, I've never heard an African or Brazilian play funk the way I like to hear it played. There's also that tendency to be impressed with "exoticness". Kind of like my attraction to Spanish women...