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Sekou Bembeya Diabate - Guitar Fo (2004)

Posted By: Manavgat

Date: 12 Aug 2011 23:04:43

If you listened to Bembeya Jazz's long-overdue 2004 comeback album, Bembeya, and said, "But I need more of that unbelievable guitar playing from Diamond Fingers," then this is the album you've been waiting for. These 11 tracks showcase many different aspects of one of West Africa's absolute top guitarists, from raging electric Manding pop ("Guitar Fo") to an elegant, jazzy solo piece played on classical guitar ("Mohamed Diabaté"). In contrast to solo projects by the West African guitarist Diabaté inevitably gets compared with–Djelimady Tounkara of Mali–this album mostly lets the guitar shine, keeping the vocals that are so central to most Manding recordings largely off stage. When there is singing, Diabaté does most of it himself.

"Biduman" kicks things off with a classic, cycling Manding riff that tumbles into an animated rumba shuffle with light percussion backing, not a whole band–old school–and that sounds sets the tone for the whole album. Then the man they call Diamond Fingers' unmistakable guitar phrasing comes in, but he's playing on a nylon-string, acoustic guitar. This is the guitar Diabaté plays at home, and as far as we know, this is the first time he's extensively featured the sound in a recording. He continues in this vein on a smoldering ballad called "Bala Koura." Then on the beautiful, expansive "Dabia Baba," a tribute to Malian businessmen and patron of many modern griots, Babani Sissoko, Diabaté at last lets loose with his signature electric sound. Pure fire!

Many of these tracks are mid-tempo or even slow, giving Diabaté's guitar ample room to stretch out and sing. "Guitar Fo" and "Diamond Fingers" are the real show-stoppers here. The latter, a dark, Manding steamer, has been part of Bembeya Jazz's live show for years, and both these pieces pour forth from Diabaté's hands with ease and polish that comes only from countless performances. There's a strain of gushing romanticism in Diabaté's playing, and it works best in darker, minor key pieces like this where the moody music grounds his sensuous flights in earthy grit.

Only on the fourth track, "Ikanam Minala," do vocals enter the mix. Diabaté is not blessed with a particularly lovely voice, and on two of the three vocal pieces on this album, he is joined by a jelimouso (female griot) named Safiata Condé. This works reasonably well once, but when we get to "Dianamo," a ballad that asks too much of Diabaté's limited voice, one wishes he had resisted. His vocal works best in the final section of "Diamond Fingers," in which he resorts to a playful growl reminiscent of Louis Armstrong, or more aptly, Diabaté's late countryman, Momo Wandel Soumah. Here, character rather than technique comes through, and that is something Diabaté has in spades, whether singing or playing.

Not enough African guitarists make albums that really put the focus on their musicianship, so hats off to a great axeman for letting us experience his mastery in such healthy portions. We need more albums like this.

Sékou Diabaté, known as Diamond Fingers, is most famous as the guitarist for the legendary Guinean band Bembeya Jazz. This solo outing, back by the five-piece Bembeya rhythm section, is essentially the same sound that made them one of Africa's greatest outfits, but without the horns, leaving guitar very much front and center. Even some of the material comes from the band's repertoire, like the signature title track, a bravura piece of fingering where Diabaté can let rip in his trademark style, showing exactly why he earned his nickname: every note arrives with crystal clarity, and even the fastest runs have a gorgeous precision. He's equally at home on acoustic, as the lovely "Bala Koura" shows with its lilting, relaxed runs. Marvelous as he is on guitar, he's not a singer, as "Ikanam Minala," "Dianamo," and "Diamond Fingers" all show clearly. He wavers around the notes, often falling just flat; be grateful that "Safiata Conde" steps in to help on the first two of those cuts. But the reason for anyone to listen is his playing, and that never disappoints, and nor do the other Bembeya people, who provide the laid-back but crucial support that gives him the freedom to roam the fretboard while keeping the music perfectly Guinean. It's a minor masterpiece of form and technique. ~ Chris Nickson

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Personnel -
Sékou Diabaté : Solo guitar / Vocal (4-7-9)
Safiata Condé : Vocal (4-7)
Moriké Kouyaté : Rhythmic guitar
Layba Condé: Rhythmic guitar
Mamady Condé: Bass guitar
Papa Kouyaté : Percussion
Mory Condé Mangalan : Drums
Compositions / Arrangements: Sékou Diabaté

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Tracklist:
01 - Biduman
02 - Bala Kora
03 - Dabia Baba
04 - Ikanam Minala
05 - Guitar Fö
06 - Wati
07 - Dianamo
08 - Ahmed Sékou
09 - Diamond Fingers
10 - Mangué
11 - Mohamed Diabaté

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

EAC RIP:

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5 from 4. May 2009

EAC extraction logfile from 17. June 2011, 2:25

Sékou Bembeya Diabaté / Guitar Fö

Used drive : TSSTcorpCDDVDW TS-H653N Adapter: 2 ID: 2

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 320 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -5 -V -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" -T "comment=shared by pastafari" %s

TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 4:42.43 | 0 | 21192
2 | 4:42.43 | 5:31.66 | 21193 | 46083
3 | 10:14.34 | 4:35.38 | 46084 | 66746
4 | 14:49.72 | 4:42.06 | 66747 | 87902
5 | 19:32.03 | 4:20.66 | 87903 | 107468
6 | 23:52.69 | 4:16.00 | 107469 | 126668
7 | 28:08.69 | 4:13.40 | 126669 | 145683
8 | 32:22.34 | 4:03.46 | 145684 | 163954
9 | 36:26.05 | 4:56.55 | 163955 | 186209
10 | 41:22.60 | 3:30.58 | 186210 | 202017
11 | 44:53.43 | 2:58.66 | 202018 | 215433

Track 1

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Track 2

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Track 3

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Track 4

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Track 5

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Track 6

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Track 7

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Track 8

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Track 9

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Track 10

Filename C:\pastafari\Sékou Bembeya Diabaté - Guitar Fö [2004] [FLAC]\10 - Mangué.wav

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Track 11

Filename C:\pastafari\Sékou Bembeya Diabaté - Guitar Fö [2004] [FLAC]\11 - Mohamed Diabaté.wav

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No errors occurred

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