Anchored by the kora and vocals of griot kora player and singer Diali Keba Cissokho, Kaira Ba has created a singular cross-cultural statement with their 2018 album Routes. This album builds a bridge across the Atlantic, connecting worlds thousands of miles apart but intimately bound by a shared history. Over the course of two years, Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba recorded Routes in North Carolina, USA, and in M’bour, Senegal. The collaboration grew to include 35 musicians, each of whom listened deeply to the others in this musical conversation. Sounds of Senegal intertwine with those of the U.S. South -- sabar and soruba orchestras, tama (talking drum), balafon, and fula flute weave through gospel organ and pedal steel, sax, trumpet, trombone and string quartet – musicians calling back and forth across continents, drawing each other close though an ocean away.
credits
released June 29, 2018
Produced by Jonathan Henderson and Jason Richmond
Kaira Ba is:
Diali Keba Cissokho - Kora, Lead vocals
John Westmoreland - Guitar, Charango
Jonathan Henderson - Bass, Percussion
Austin McCall - Drum Kit, Calabash, Percussion
Will Ridenour - Djembe, Sabar, Dunduns, Congas, Percussion
U.S. Artists:
Eric Heywood - Pedal Steel Guitar
Tony Williamson - Mandolin
Shana Tucker - Vocals
Tamisha Waden - Vocals
Alan Thompson - Alto Saxophone
Jennifer Curtis - 1st Violin, Solo Violin
Elizabeth Phelps - 2nd Violin
Suzanne Rousso - Viola
Paula Peroutka - Cello
Beverly Botsford - Shekere and Sound Colors
Chuckey Robinson - Organ
Lynn Grissett - Trumpet
Andy Kleindienst - Trombone
Jim Henderson - Baritone Saxophone
Sidya Cissokho - Sabar
Executive Producer, Jonathan Henderson
Recorded and Mixed by Jason Richmond
Recorded at Auberge Africa Thiossane (Saly, Senegal) and Fidelitorium Recordings, Sound Pure Studios, and Moeser Auditorium (North Carolina, USA)
Mastering by Dave McNair
Cover art by Saba Taj
Interior design and layout by Cherie Westmoreland
Liner notes by Diali Cissokho, Will Ridenour, and Jonathan Henderson
All photographs by Jonathan Henderson except booklet cover by Bruce dePyssler and Assistant Engineer at Fidelitorium Recordings: Andrew McClenney
All songs written, arranged, and recorded by Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba, except “Xarit” by Youssoupha Cissokho, and “Waajur” by Mamadou Cissokho (from “Night in M’bour”)
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about
In this collage of sounds from my hometown of M’bour, we first hear a traditional sabar drum ensemble playing in a courtyard, mixed with fula flute, a side-blown, 3-holed flute made from rattan. Then we hear in the distance faint percussion music from a wedding, which gives way to the chanting of the Koran by kids known as “talibe.” These are young kids without a family who live with their Serigne, or teacher. During the day they beg in the streets, and at night they begin chanting after dinner and continue non-stop until 6 o’clock in the morning. After the talibe, we hear the late-night sounds of the courtyard at my brother Youssoupha’s house -- people hanging out, brewing tea, cleaning the dishes from dinner, and playing kora. The final song, written and performed by my nephew Mamadou Cissokho, quite possibly saved his parents’ marriage. He calls it Waajur, parents in Wolof.
lyrics
My Mom, my Dad / I appreciate you so much / I miss seeing you together, laughing, eating, hanging out / I hope you can continue that / I love you and respect you / when I grow up, I want you both to be a part of my life / to see who I will become / to be proud of me / so you don’t regret bringing me into your lives / Dad, you are a wonderful musician / you have always paid great attention to your kids / you feed us, support us / you have always wanted a better life for your kids
credits
from Routes,
released June 29, 2018
Baba Galle Kante - Fula Flute | Ablaye Daffé, Ablaye Cissokho, Abdou Ndiaye, Bayemor Mbaye - Sabar | Mamadou Cissokho - Sabar, Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals | Jason Richmond - Courtyard, Talibe, M’bour Night and DialiKunda Field Recordings | Jonathan Henderson - Waajur Field Recording
Kaira Ba's music is steeped in ancient West African griot traditions, but propelled into the 21st century by the modernizing
impulses of a rock band format. Cissokho's electrifying voice conveys timeless themes of mythology, migration, and and justice. Together, Kaira Ba's cross-continental music illuminates stories centuries-old; renewing their relevance in a globalized world....more
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