your Groove Nations programme here [pdf
Transcription
your Groove Nations programme here [pdf
do something different contemporary summer 08 28 May–3 Jul 08 www.barbican.org.uk/groove-nations Free programme Groove Nations More Than One Nation Under A Groove African-American musicians played funky before funk was deemed a formal genre. More to the point, African-Americans behaved funky in their daily lives. Like soul, funk stemmed from the blues, its unique worldview and art de vivre. Defining and refining the music in the mid ‘60s was James Brown. His credo was the ‘one’, the placing of a hard, bold accent on the first beat of the bar to give the principal rhythm of a song its fulcrum, its regimental sense of gravity. The word had no exact meaning. On the one hand it denoted a rousing energy or punch, a certain vigour in speech, behaviour or character. On the other hand funk referred to sadness, depression or strong odours, smells not quite as pleasant as the heavenly aroma of a sweet potato pie. The one. So simple yet so meaningful: a directive that facilitates an iron grip on the music all the while allowing a freedom of expression. When the listener locks in to the groove, safe in the constant throb of the ‘one’, the dancer invariably finds dizzying liberation. Binding these two connotations is the fundamental idea of emphasis. Funk is intensity in sensation, be it sweet or unsavoury, bad meaning bad or bad meaning good. 2 Although the ‘funky drummer’, as immortalized by the likes of Brown’s hallowed sidemen Clyde Stubblefield and John ‘Jabo’ Starks, is a quintessential figure in the annals of the music, Brown the vocalist is not to be underestimated. In one elongated note, an enervated, almost pained scream that transmutes field holler to church sermon to blues shout, the funk is made as real as the coldest of cold sweat. The music is not an out of body experience. It is an in the body contagion. Beyond the bedrock of spirituals and gospel this expression reaches back to Africa both vocally and rhythmically. Brown’s phrasal explosions and use of sharp, entrancing pentatonic scales to create a frenzied percolation of bass and guitar, had parallels with West African balaphone and mbira patterns. key Brown collaborator, as well as the storied Afrobeat veteran Tony Allen, British/Nigerian rapper Ty, vocalist Wunmi and the zestful South African debutante Simphiwe Dana. From Nigeria comes Seun Kuti, son of Fela and worthy heir to the throne of Afrobeat, the music that combined politics, sexuality and perambulating riffs set to vast arrangements. From Algeria comes Khaled, the iconic champion of rai, the street music that can groove with searing intensity and from Brazil comes the unremittingly eclectic Carlinhos Brown, an artist whose audacious evolution has not compromised the essential earthiness of his work. Brown also drew inspiration from the percussive technique of the region’s master Hi-life drummers such as Tony Allen, who would subsequently become the rhythmic anchor for the music of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a visionary influenced by James Brown among others. From Ethiopia comes the dazzling coterie of vocalists and instrumentalists - Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astaqé, Gétatchèw Mèkurya and Alèmayèhu Eshèté – who built a bridge between soul, funk, jazz, rock & roll and the indigenous rhythms of ‘swinging Addis’ in the ‘70s. Hence, funk, although an intrinsically American music, has a global DNA. Groove Nations is a celebration of the music’s extended family, the kith and kin that have emerged in the years that followed the moment James Brown put his good foot forward, did the double bump and felt like kissing himself. Funk is a rhythmic language; each territory in this celebration accents the music in its own particular way. Lastly, from America comes the living monument of black music that is Solomon Burke, a peer of James Brown, who brought grit and grandeur to soul, the older sibling of funk. From Senegal comes the brilliant singermulti-instrumentalist Cheikh Lô, a man whose collaboration with ex-Brown sideman ‘Pee Wee’ Ellis has cemented the transatlantic funk fraternity. Together these artists show how far and wide funk has stretched, how many geographical and sonic borders it has crossed to bring together, in a manner of which George Clinton, one of James Brown’s most fantastical apprentices would approve, more than one nation under a groove. © Kevin Le Gendre May 2008 In a special tribute to Soul Brother No 1 these peerless artists are joined by trombonist Fred Wesley, another 3 Wed 28 May 7.30pm Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 + Geraldo Pino & The Heartbeats Seun Kuti & Egypt 80: Oluwaseun Anikulapo-Kuti lead vocalist Tajudeen Olalekan Animasahun musical director/keyboard Adedimeji Rilwan Fagbemi baritone sax Oyinade Adeniran tenor sax Oluwuyiwa Emmanuel Kunnuji trumpet Olugbade Peter Okunade trumpet Kunle Justice bass guitar (& keyboard?) Bolanle Sedomo Kamson singer/dancer Motunrayo Anikulapo Kuti singer/dancer Iyabo Folashade Adeniran singer/dancer David Obanyedo lead guitar Alade Oluwagbemiga guitar Ajayi Raimi Adebiyi drums Kola Onasanya giant conga Olawele Toriola percussion Okon Iyamba percussion/shekere 4 Geraldo Pino & The Heartbeats: Geraldo Pino lead vocalist Amoni Opakuma band leader Buster Birch drums Francis Fuster percussion Ed Bentley keyboards Sam Djenque bass Phil Dawson guitar Dave Lewis saxophone Claude Deppa trumpet Son of the late, great founder of Afrobeat Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Seun is a worthy heir to his father’s stupendous musical throne. He is known for high octane performances in which his boundless, infectious energy invariably has audiences on their feet by the end of the first number let alone the end of the night. A performer since the tender age of nine, Seun cut his teeth by opening shows for his father at the legendary club, The Shrine in Lagos. When Fela passed, he became the leader of his last great band, Egypt 80 and proceeded to stamp his own personality on his father’s singular creative vision. Bolstered by several of the musicians who played with Fela for decades, Egypt 80 is a compellingly authentic representation of Afrobeat, the music that whirled the bounce of Nigerian hi-life and the strut of Georgian funk into a glorious polyrhythmic carousel. Playing saxophone as well as singing, Seun has inherited something of his father’s charisma and stands as a superb front man, directing scores of chorus singers and musicians. Having toured internationally for the past two decades, Seun, still in his twenties, has developed a great confidence and magnetic stage presence that have consolidated his reputation on the live circuit. Although Fela Kuti recorded extensively during his career, his live gigs, often marathon affairs in which songs would stretch to epic lengths, were the stuff of legend and Seun has fully understood this, making sure that every concert becomes an extended ritualistic jam. Hearing him breathe new energy into Fela classics such as Suffering And Smiling, Army Arrangement and B.B.C [Big Blind Country] alongside his own original pieces like Mosquito Song should make for a Groove Nation highlight. Expect infectious party grooves and afrobeats from long lost hero of afro-soul funk, Sierra Leonian Geraldo Pino, who reunites with Francis Fuster and The Heartbeats especially for this concert. Produced by The Barbican There will be one interval in tonight’s concert. 5 Sat 14 Jun 8pm Still Black Still Proud An African Tribute to James Brown Pee Wee Ellis saxophone/vocals Fred Wesley trombone/vocals Cheikh Lo guitar/vocals Tony Allen drums/vocals Simphiwe Dana vocals Vieux Farka Touré kora Ty rapper/MC Fred Ross vocals/backing vocals Wunmi vocals/backing vocals James Morton alto sax Tony Remy guitar Vicky Edimo bass Richard Olatunde Baker percussion/vocals Peter Madsen keyboards Guido May drums 6 Anchoring tonight’s rhythm section is another emblematic African musician, Tony Allen, the drummer who helped Fela Kuti define Afrobeat back in the ‘70s. As he recently showed on the African Soul Rebels tour, Allen is a very complete artist, capable of composing inventively as well as holding down intricate rhythms in which he is liable to shift the pulse of the music without losing its relentless thrust. From South Africa comes the highly promising new vocalist Simphiwe Dana, already winning plaudits for On Bantu Biko Street, a beautifully orchestrated album that entwines big band jazz and township harmonies to great effect. As impressive a lead vocalist as Dana is, she attaches great importance to chorus singing in her music, primarily because her indigenous culture is decisively rooted in the flourish of the ensemble as well as the individual voice. Although James Brown was a law unto himself, he would not have been able to change the course of popular music without the input of a superlative cast of accompanists. Among his revered horn section, tenor saxophonist Alfred ‘Pee Wee’ Ellis and trombonist Fred Wesley stood tall. Pee wee was fundamental in the architecture of funk, having collaborated with Brown in writing Cold Sweat, widely regarded as being the seminal moment when funk was crystallized into a genre. This collective energy is also a key component of the work of all the artists appearing in this tribute to a great man, who despite his monumental character and individuality, fully recognized the absolute premium of a stellar band. Tonight they grace the stage alongside a string of influential African artists to form an international band that celebrates the transcontinental traffic between US funk and its Motherland antecedents. Added to the rhythmic mix tonight is Malian blues guitarist Vieux Farka Touré, fusing the rich Malian musical traditions reminiscent of his late father Ali Farka Touré with the vibrant modern-day Mali-beat. The Senegalese artist Cheikh Lô, a man who moves seamlessly from vocals to guitar to drums, will have no problem fitting into the groove, having worked extensively with Ellis on acclaimed albums such as Lamp Fall. Keeping alive his Nigerian roots is Londonborn hip-hop artist Ty, (a previous Tony Allen collaborator) whose second album Upwards, a powerful blend of astute lyrics and vintage grooves, was nominated for a Mercury prize. Still Black, Still Proud is thus about the whole being greater than the sum of the parts, even though the parts are very much to be reckoned with in their own right. The marked contrast in the vocal styles of Simphiwe Dana and Wunmi, the former demure and understated, the latter energetic and gutsy, as well as the rich rhythmic palette presented by Tony Allen and Cheikh Lô, topped off by the sophisticated riffing of horn maestros Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley, will surely make for a compelling celebration of the rich legacy of James Brown. Saying it loud, his spirit is still crossing boundaries, freighting a motherlode from the Motherland. James Brown Film Event 5pm Cinema 3 James Brown: Soul Survivor 15 Cheikh Lô Jeremy Marre’s sensational chronicle of the life and times of the great James Brown. Featuring performances, interviews and hits It’s a Man’s World, Say It Loud and many more. UK 2003 Dir. Jeremy Marre 85 min. Tickets £8.50 / £6 memb, concs & concert ticket holders Simphiwe Dana Freestage from 6pm ClubStage directly after the concert Yaaba Funk Where have all the Panthers gone? Yaaba Funk are a 10-piece Hi Life/AfroFunk explosion. A product of Brixton and influenced by 1970’s Ghanaian hi-life, funky sounds of James Brown and UK sounds like Roots Manuva and The Specials. A floorfilling extravaganza combining the tightest rhythm section this side of Accra, fat analogue basslines, blazing horns, and gritty rock guitars. + DJs Max Reinhardt & Rita Ray A musical, visual and spoken word elegy to a movement that seems to have disappeared until now. With the Shrine Syncrosystem, Byron Wallen & Roger Robinson. Produced by The Barbican 7 Sat 21 Jun 8pm Khaled + Maurice El Médioni Khaled voice Mohamed Berkane-Krachai violin Abdelouahed Zaim Oud Alain Perez guitar Elie Chameli keyboards Mustapha Didouh keyboard Maurice Zemmour bass Daniel Shmitt drums Bachir Mokari percussion Maurice El Médioni piano Marco Maimaran percussion Rai is the music of the streets of Oran, Algeria and Khaled its king. Since making his debut in 1992 with his eponymous album that spawned the enormous hit Didi, the singer has gone on to become an icon in his homeland and a household name in France. Further recordings such as the soundtrack to Bertrand Blier’s film 1-2-3 Soleil as well as the single Aicha have cemented Khaled’s status as a Sono Mondiale giant. A raunchy, edgy genre that stands in opposition to the classical style of alandalous, rai is the music born of the lower rungs of Algerian society who have a penchant for improvising lyrics, mostly on risqué themes, set to rhythms derived from Bedoui tribes. Electric guitars, keyboards, horns and percussion are now part of the standard set-up of most rai bands, many of which can groove with undimmed intensity. Khaled, who made a devastating impact at the first Rai Festival in Oran over two decades ago, has made a significant contribution to the music’s repertoire, proving a bundle of energy on albums like Hada Raykoum while his more overtly political nature surfaced on Fuir Mais Ou? Blessed with an imperious but tender tone, Khaled is an outstanding interpreter of melody with great force and clarity in his projection and enviable control in his use of sensual long tones. Above all he has a complete sense of emotional investment in whatever he sings that enables him to create a fever pitch of excitement in performance. Didi remains to Khaled what Sex Machine was to James Brown, a timeless anthem whose infectious chorus and hypnotic riffs have become a vivid symbol of the vitality of a whole genre of music and the culture that underpins it. Opening the show tonight is eclectic Algerian pianist Maurice El Médioni, mixing Boogie Woogie, Jazz and Latin styles, with influences from the Maghreb and Andalusia. Produced by Serious There will be one interval in tonight’s concert. 8 9 Tue 24 Jun 7.30pm Carlinhos Brown + Mr Catra Carlinhos Brown artist/band leader Mikael Mutti Ramos keys Ana Teresa Santos Oliveira chorus & dancer Cristiane Maria Andrade Britto Silva chorus & dancer Julio Medeiros Batista guitar Carlos Alberto Araújo dos Reis guitar Elbermário Rodrigues Barbosa percussion Marcos Bertolino Santos de Freitas percussion André Reis de Jesus percussion João Luis Lago de Jesus trumpet Rowney Archibald Scott Júnior sax Ronaldo Borges dos Santos bass Mr Catra: Mr Catra vocals Dj Edgar turntables According to whatever gospel one chooses to believe, Antonio Carlos Santos De Freitas either adopted the stage name Carlinhos Brown as a tribute to Soul Brother No 1 or as a dedication to the rather more obscure Box Brown, an African-American slave who managed to escape bondage by hiding in a casket. In either case, Carlinhos has dutifully upheld the spirit of both these historical figures, making music that is inventively funky, all the while constantly breaking out of any categories that critics attempt to place him in. Born and raised in Salvador, Bahia, the Brazilian state that has vividly retained African culture, Brown learned percussion as a child before becoming a member of 10 Luis Caldas’ Acorde Verde, a group that is largely recognized as one of the innovators of samba reggae. Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s he either wrote or toured with Brazil’s sacré monstres Caetano Veloso, João Gilberto and Djavan before going on to front Timbalada, a band that featured 100 percussionists. In the last decade Brown has continued to show an insatiable appetite for solo projects and collaborations, releasing a string of albums under his own name as well as forming the Brazilian supergroup, Tribalistas with Marisa Monte and Arnaldo Antunes. Given the broad artistic sweep of his work to date, it is almost impossible to predict what Brown will do next. Every new record brings surprises just as every concert appearance usually involves spectacle on a grand scale. However a constant feature of Brown’s creativity has been his ambitious use of drums and percussion as well as his desire to create novel textures often on custommade instruments. His ability to entwine Bahian rhythms with funk, rock and electronica has yielded music that is hard to classify but easy to be excited by, and, more to the point, dance to. Warming up the occasion in fine style is one of Rio De Janeiro’s sassiest funkateers, star of high-energy favela funk carioca, Mr Catra, in his first UK appearance.. Produced by The Barbican There will be one interval in tonight’s concert. 11 Fri 27 Jun 8pm Éthiopiques Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatqé, Gétachèw Mèkurya, Alèmayèhu Eshèté + Either/Orchestra Éthiopiques: Mahmoud Ahmed vocals Mulatu Astatqé vibraphone/congas/ keyboard Gétachèw Mèkurya vocals Alèmayèhu Eshèté tenor saxophone Either/Orchestra: Russ Gershon bandleader, tenor/soprano saxophones Tom Halter trumpet Dan Rosenthal trumpet Joel Yennior trombone Godwin Louis alto saxophone/flute Charlie Kohlhase baritone saxophone Rafael Alcala piano/organ Rick Mclaughlin bass Pablo Bencid drums Vicente Lebron congas/percussion Back in the late ‘60s few musicologists may have mused on what would happen if James Brown’s pants-splitting scream were to be given an Amharic accent but eventually the world found out just how glorious that cross-cultural phantasm could be. By the ‘70s Good Foot and Brand New Bag-style riffs had entered the vocabulary of Ethiopian artists alongside jazz, rock & roll, psychedelia and modal rhythms to produce a plethora of strange and 12 beautiful sounds that have recently come to light to woo dancers all over planet groove. Many of the musicians featured on Ethiopiques, the 23 volume series of reissues of classic Ethiopian music researched and collated by the producer Francis Falceto, were highly trained players who worked either in Haile Selassie’s Imperial Guard Orchestra or in the Police Band in Addis Ababa. Years later the likes of singer Mahmoud Ahmed, who dazzled the Barbican audience when he performed after winning the Africa award at the 2007 World Music awards, are still going strong, appearing regularly in their homeland and now increasingly around the world. As for Mulatu Astaqué he is one of the great composer-conceptualists of Ethiopian music, a pianist/vibraphone player who studied jazz in America and England before returning home to record a number of brilliant albums in the late ‘60s that showed how effectively he had absorbed the harmonic complexity of Ellington and Strayhorn without compromising his strong local musical identity. Another veteran player, the tenor saxophonist Gétatchèw Mèkurya, is revered for pioneering a distinctively gruff, guttural style that was inspired by the shellela, the fearsome battle cry of Ethiopian warriors. Completing the all star Ethiopiques line-up is Alèmayèhu Eshèté, a singer with a voluminous discography who left the Imperial Guard to make a name for himself with the independent bands in Addis. With a raucous, rugged voice capable of the most ecstatic of wails, Esthete has been rightly called the ‘James Brown of Ethiopia.’ Setting the mood for this otherworldly musical excursion is the Either/Orchestra, the quirky, puckish American big band that likes its jazz gyroscopic. A recent collaboration with many of the aforementioned Ethiopian artists in Addis has resoundingly confirmed the group’s desire to engage in the hippest of crosscultural musical adventures. ClubStage – directly after the concert Dub Colossus in A Town Called Addis + DJ Cliffy Nick Page (TransGlobal Underground) collaborates with musicians and singers from Addis Ababa including Teremag Weretow. Plus global beats from DJ Cliffy. Produced by The Barbican 13 Thu 3 Jul 7.30pm Solomon Burke + Breakestra Solomon Burke vocals Sophia Perez backing vocals Candy Burke backing vocals Raffaella Stirpe viola Simona Mana violin Carle Vickers trumpet & saxophone Daniel Hofmann saxophones Jonathan Bradley trumpet Guitar Jack Wargo lead guitar Rudy Copeland hammond B3 Keith Ladinsky keys Stoney Dixon bass guitar Mandale McGee drums Breakestra: Mixmaster Wolf Music Man Miles Pete 'The Buzzard' Mcneal Jeremy Ruzumna Pat 'Snake' Bailey David Moyer Chris Bautista Chuck Prada A colossus in every sense of the word, Solomon Burke is part of the generation of American singers whose roots reach right back to the time when gospel and rhythm & blues collided like fairground bumper cars to produce a glorious new music called soul. A one time preacher and exponent of Spirituals whose baritone is so rich it is as effective reciting a monologue as it is singing, Burke became feted in secular music circles in the ‘60s when he cut classics like Cry To Me and Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, a piece covered by both Wilson Pickett and The Rolling Stones. 14 Dubbed the king of ‘rock & soul’ for the electrifying edge that he brought to black music in the ‘60s, Burke also proved himself to be an astute performer of music from other genres and brilliantly adapted a country song, Just Out Of Reach Of My Open Arms to enjoy one of his biggest hits. Burke recorded consistently throughout the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, confirming his status as a legendary figure with releases such as Definition Of Soul and Soul Alive! The last five years have seen a renewal of interest in his work that culminated in the star-studded country album, Nashville and a UK tour with Jools Holland that ended with two sell-out shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall. A peer of Sam Cooke, James Brown and Ray Charles, Solomon Burke is rightly considered to be living musical history, one of the great founding fathers of soul music who can recall first hand the wild excitement of appearing at Harlem’s fabled Apollo theatre while a young Bobby Womack was waiting nervously in the wings. Supporting Burke tonight is the Los Angeles combo Breakestra, a group that specializes in playing live the funkiest beats and samples heard on today’s hip-hop records to create an organic celebration of rhythms largely borne of James Brown, a messianic soul of blessed blackness. © Kevin Le Gendre May 2008 There will be one interval in tonight’s concert. do something different Book Now www.barbican.org.uk/ contemporary (Reduced booking fee online) 0845 120 7557 (bkg fee) Fri 20 Jun 7.30pm Tue 8 Jul 7.30pm Ólafur Arnalds Branford Marsalis Quartet + Yndi Halda Strings, beats and electronics from Iceland + Andrew McCormack Trio Fri 4 Jul 7.30pm Wed 9 Jul 7.30pm Zakir Hussain’s Masters of Percussion Maria Schneider Orchestra + Debashish Bhattacharya + Portico Quartet Sat 5 Jul 7.30pm An Honest Jon’s Chop Up! with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Lobi Traoré, Candi Staton, Kokanko Sata + more Sun 27 Jul 7.30pm Gary Burton Quartet Revisited With Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow and Antonio Sanchez Summer events now on sale: see our website for the latest updates www.barbican.org.uk/contemporary 15