| Main Performers | Eliades Ochoa,
Kasse Mady Diabate - vocal,
Toumani Diabate - kora,
Bassekou Kouyate - ngoni,
Djelimady Tounkora - guitar,
Fatoumata Diawara |
| Performance Notes | Como No presents AfroCubism featuring Eliades Ochoa, Toumani Diabate, Bassekou Kouyate, Djelimady Tounkora, Kasse Mady Diabate.
The great world music album that never was has finally been realised. The project that became the Buena Vista Social Club has borne its own extraordinary fruit. In 1996, a group of Malis finest musicians were due to fly into Havana for a speculative collaboration with some of Cubas most brilliant singers and instrumentalists. For reasons that have never been made clear, the Malians never arrived. A very different album was recorded: The Buena Vista Social Club. The rest, as they say, is multi-million selling history.
World Circuit Records' Nick Gold, the man behind the 1996 venture, finally brought the original invitees together with a stellar line-up of additional talent at a series of inspirational sessions and the great lost Afro-Cuban album will be released fourteen years after originally planned. Fronting the Cuban team is the cowboy-hatted singer and guitarist Eliades Ochoa, singer of the great Buena Vista theme Chan Chan. The two original Malian invitees are multi award-winning ngoni lute master Bassekou Kouyate and the extraordinary Rail Band guitarist Djelimady Tounkara, both universally agreed to be among the worlds great instrumentalists.
Joining them are Eliades' Grupo Patria, amongst Cuba's longest running and most revered bands, the mercurial kora genius Toumani Diabaté, legendary Malian griot singer Kasse Mady Diabaté and the innovatory balafon player Lassana Diabaté.
AfroCubism have just performed a sold out performance at the Barbican as part of the London Jazz Festival.
Post show signing in Door 6 Foyer. |
| Related Archival Material | Handbill (RAHE/6/2011/31) |