Rokia Traoré

Sweet-voiced Malian diva and guitarist Rokia Traoré returns to The Cedar showcasing her striking new album Tchamantché (Nonesuch) and her newfound passion for her Gretsch guitar, as she stretches out over broad new musical vistas, yet continues to display the same irrepressible, irresistible gentle charm. Associated Press calls Tchamantché “genius” and says, “It’s an album you’ll want to maintain in a prominent place among your collection.” The New York Times calls the album Traoré’s best record to date. And Billboard notes the album’s “gorgeous musicality and graceful simplicity.” Traoré is recognized for her powerful live performances. In a five-star review of a recent London concert, the Guardian said, “Mali’s most sophisticated singer is now leader of a rousing guitar band, and this was one of the African concerts of the year.”

Tchamantché stems from a simple inspiration—the sound of an old Gretsch guitar—and employs a traditional pop rhythm section. The instrumentation is often sparse, contrasting the Gretsch or the classic Silvertone guitar with subtle percussion effects provided by human beat box and hip-hop artist Sly Johnson, or the n’goni—the tiny, sharp-edged West African lute that has always been an integral part of her sound—played alongside the Western classical harp.

Traoré composed all the songs on Tchamantché, with the exception of the Gershwin classic popularized by Billie Holiday  “The Man I Love,” a song she first sang in a duet with Dianne Reeves during the Billie and Me tour in 2005. Known for her outspoken lyrics, Traoré covers a variety of topics on her new record. She discusses the problem of illegal immigration from Africa to Europe in “Tounka,” and, in “Dounia,” reminds Malians that they should be proud of the glories of their past. “Zen” is a song about having the courage to do nothing, and “Yorodjan” was written in praise of African street parties.

Rokia Traore has changed direction once again, with dramatic results. In the five years since her last album, Bowmboi, she has toured the US celebrating the life of Billie Holiday, and written a new work - an African response to the life of Mozart - for the maverick director Peter Sellars. Now comes an intriguing, sophisticated and often intimate set that is quite unlike any of the other great music Mali has produced. Many of the songs are built around her subtle and bluesy electric-guitar work, but also make use of the classical western harp and African ngoni, though no longer the balafon. The result is an exquisitely recorded set that manages to sound contemporary but still distinctively African. It's remarkable mostly because of the quality and range of her singing, which can be quietly slinky and personal, rousing, as well as breathy. The songs are mostly in Bambara, with two in French and one in English - a wildly individual treatment of the Gershwin classic The Man I Love, that starts as a brooding ballad and ends as a scat work-out. Traore has become the experimental diva of Africa. (Five Stars Review of Tchamantché, Robin Denselow, The Guardian)

A number of things distinguish Ms Traore from other Malian divas: her voice is intimate rather than epic; she's as interested in innovation as she is in tradition. And – on this her fourth and best album – there's a shift towards minor-key angst-tinged songs while most African music sounds celebratory, even when the lyrics are reporting poverty and injustices. Traore's tunes has similar social concerns but it's the delicate tracery of her unique arrangements, in which Gretsch guitar, n'goni and classical harp discreetly impose themselves on silence, that make this exceptional.  (Review of Tchamantché, Howard Male, The Independent)

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