When Mali gained independence from French colonial rule in 1960, guitarist/songwriter Boubacar Traore became one of the first musical stars of Mali's independence. Under the presidency of Modibo Keita, Traore regularly appeared on radio broadcasts becoming one of the symbols of the country's independence.
Traore is known by his nickname Kar Kar, which in Bambara, a major language in Northern Mali, means "the man who dribbles too much", a reference to his skill as a football player. Like Ali Farka Toure, who emerged around the same time as Traore, he is a self-taught guitarist who has, again like Toure, developed his own unique sound and style -- a blend of Malian Mande music, Arabic and American blues.
In 1968, Keita's presidency was overthrown by Moussa Traore and Boubacar Traore, perhaps because he was associated with the previous administration, disappeared from sight. His wife died and to support his family of six children he moved to France to work in construction. A chance discovery of a cassette tape of Traore's radio sessions from Mali by a British producer led to his first album release, Mariama (Stern's, UK) in 1990. It was an immediate success. Traore's acoustic guitar, spare percussion (made by the calabash drum, which gives the distinctive rhythm to both Traore's and Ali Farka Toure's music, and socially-conscious lyrics) enabled him to develop his own sound. I still enjoy listening to this uplifting album.
Traore and Toure both used the blues and R&B from the Deep South of the US in their music. As a result, both are often dubbed "Africa's bluesmen", but that was not a term that Farka would tolerate. He complained that calling him a bluesman was insulting, since, he told me once, the blues is just the music of one of 11 ethnic types of music he performed. "It's just the music of the Tamashek [sometimes called Toureg]." Nonetheless, you can hear riffs from blues in both their music but the root of both their styles comes from Mande and Bambara culture and both men were experts in the Northern Malian traditions, which included the late Zani Djabate and his Super Djata Band.
As Ali Farka Toure's career took off in the 1980s, Traore would have to wait until the release of Mariama in 1990 to become a musician again. He has since gone on to release several studio albums and compilations. His latest album Dounia Tabolo (Lusafrica) was released in September and is his most international effort to date.
Several US blues musicians have journeyed to West Africa, while several West African musicians have explored US-Malian musical links by recording in the Deep South of the US. One of the most successful is Kulanjan, which featured Taj Mahal and Malian kora (21-stringed African harp) maestro Toumani Diabate along with six Malian music masters, recorded in Athens, Georgia, in 1999 (essential for any discerning music collection). Grammy-winning steel guitar playing bluesman Corey Harris made several trips to West Africa and released an album based on his travels, Mississippi To Mali, on Rounder Records in 2003.
Harris' subtle guitar work is featured throughout Traore's new album, which also features the cello and vocals of Leyla McCalla, violin and washboard from Cedric Watson (who played his wonderful zydeco and La-La music from Louisiana), calabash percussion from Babah Kone and some fantastic blues harmonica from French master Vincet Bucher. Bucher has developed a very strong musical relationship with Traore, appearing on several of his albums and tours, and their instruments dovetail perfectly on the new album. Bucher has great blues chops but it his ability to play the Malian melodies in a blues style that really caught my attention.
The songs on the new album feature reworkings of some of his most popular songs like the amazing title track Dounia Tabolo, as well as new songs like Ben de Kadi and the instrumental and bluesy Mousso. The opening up of his music to collaboration with international musicians like Harris and Watson has added a new dimension to his music.
His songs retain their Malian root and his approach -- soft, acoustic slide and plucked guitar intros, the arrival of catchy calabash derived rhythms and Traore's lilting, storytelling voice -- remains the same. For those of you who are interested Mali and the blues, this album, like Taj Mahal's Kulanjan, is a must. Highly recommended. More information from boubacartraore.com.
This columnist can be contacted at clewley.john@gmail.com.
