African Invasion

I had the good fortune to attend not one, but two live music shows by musicians from Africa this week.  On Monday night, Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars played a wonderful show at Solar Culture, then on Tuesday night, Khaira Arby dazzled the crowd at Hotel Congress.  To hear more about these great shows and to find out what African music is available at Pima County Public Library, read on!
Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars is made up of members from Freetown, Sierra Leone who began playing together in 1997 at refugee camps in Guinea after fleeing violence in their home country.  The band was eventually able to return to Freetown and has had a growing and changing membership ever since.

On Monday night, they played to a sizable and enthusiastic crowd of dancing fans.  The music from West Africa is so infectiously danceable that it seems nearly impossible to not joyously move one's body at such a show.  The dancing started with the opening band, Black Nature Band.  This band, with many reggae grooves, is fronted by the percussionist from Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars.  The band included a sax, and two up-front back-up singers who added to the show with quality singing and dancing.  The crowd was already limber by the time the main act took the stage.

Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars were a pleasure for listening and dancing.  The percussion (drum kit player and conga player), guitar and bass wash over the crowd and create a feeling that demands movement.  The crowd kept up with the band, and danced the night away, not stopping until the encore was over.  To see a documentary about the band, and to see what music the library has available, click on the following link: Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars.  You can also find some of their music through our free digital music download partner Freegal.

Tucson's African Invasion did not end on Monday night.  Khaira Arby brought the sounds of Mali to Tucson on Tuesday, and while both the crowd and the dancing were not in as much abundance as they were on Monday, Mali's "Nightingale of the North" did not disappoint.  Her vocals are as powerful as they are melodic, and the beauty of her singing is very clear despite the language barrier that exists in understanding her lyrics.  The band (made up of her family members) was equally as amazing.  There was quite a buzz in the crowd about the incredible skills of the guitarist, who also played amazing bass.  The drummer, as one would expect, was also phenomenal.  PCPL and Freegal do not carry any Khaira Arby titles, but it is worth informing the public of her amazing talent.

While African music, Afropop, Afrobeat, and a myriad of other African styles were available in the U.S. before the popularity of Paul Simon's amazing recording,  Graceland, which included South African musicians and the South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the huge success of that album paved the way for scores of African musicians to find audiences in America.

Among my favorites of the African musicians to gain attention here in the states is high-energy, politically-potent saxaphonist and band leader Fela Kuti.  Literally hundreds of his songs are available on Freegal.  More African music that we have in our collection at PCPL includes the Putumayo compilations available here.

The influx of African music in the United States has had an artistic effect on bands born and raised on our soil.  Some of these bands include Vampire Weekend, available in our catalog here, Toubab Krewe, Rusted Root, and the up-and-comers from Louisiana, Givers (available on Freegal).  These bands may be more accessible for American audiences, as the lyrics are in English, and the songs share a common cultural sensibility.

It is a pleasure that tremendous advances in transportation, communication, and recording provide us with easy access to music from all over the world, every distant land, as well as to the musicians in our own back yard (Los Lobos from relatively nearby Los Angeles play The Rialto on June 14).  As Paul Simon points out, "these are the days of miracle and wonder, so don't cry baby, don't cry."  Don't cry, dance.