Vedette

You may remember Wande Kouyaté from an earlier post on this blog, but I doubt you would guess this is the same artist just by listening to the music. While the cassette I posted earlier had a lusciously rich and 'live' ambience, the sound on this cassette is bone dry. This is partly due to the accompagnement by none other than the legendary Vieux Lion himself, Bazoumanaba Sissoko.

Wande Kouyaté, like many of Mali's divas, saw her career lift off through her involvement with the Ensemble Instrumental National. In this she followed in the footsteps of her mother Bah Tounkara, who was a member of the very first Ensemble.
But it is safe to say that Wande is not one of the most popular djeli's in Mali. When I bought this cassette in the 1980s some Malians praised her for her pure interpretation of traditional classics, while others argued she was too intellectual (or even intellectualistic) to be loved by the masses, and her repertoire tended to be conservative or even dogmatic (if this is possible in music). I am not sure what 'won her over', but it is clear that she modernised her style sometime during the 1990s, - although she managed to keep the ngoni in.

I don't have a reliable discography (or cassettography) of her work, but I think this must be one of her very first cassettes. These recordings were originally released on Sacodis LS 33 (presumably in 1980), and the tell-tale vinyl scratches and noises* seem to indicate that this cassette is a bootleg ripped from the Sacodis lp.
All the tracks feature only Wande with Bazoumana on ngoni. Highlights to me are the brilliantly pentatonic "Ne Ya Me", "Mali Nieman" and - of course - "Bakari Dian", the epic story about that historic hero from Segou, Bakari Dian Koné.
These are bambara traditionals in their purest form. Bazoumana's ngoni evokes a world far from Parisian studios and hi-tech recording gear. A world of dry sun and good friendly folk. The only drawback is that after listening to this cassette I find myself mysteriously covered in red Malian dust....

ASF 322 cassette

From a later date, but still from the 1980s, here is a video of Wande Kouyaté recorded by Malian television. Unfortunately no Bazoumana, but still a very nice version of a song which is also on the cassette I posted earlier: "Niame". You may be tempted to think "Ne Ya Me" is the same song, but this is clearly not the case. Note the remarkable change in pace set in after 5'40. Being a true vedette of Malian music Wande leads the ensemble....


*including traces of reversed vocals which I can only attribute to an error in the alignment of the recording head when they made the 'mastertape' for this cassette.

The old lion

When Bazoumana Sissoko died on December 27, 1987, the myths surrounding this legend of Malian culture neither started nor ended. Even his birth is surrounded with myth. He is said to have been born on the day the French general Archinard took the town of Segou (this historical event took place on April 6, 1890), - according to some in Koni in the Tamani cercle of the Segou region, and to others in Seguela which nowadays is in the Koulikoro region (but at the time was also part of the Segou empire). Not only born blind, but also a paralytic from a young age, he nevertheless grew to a monumental status in Malian society, earning him the nickname of Le Vieux Lion. As a Sissoko he was born to become a griot of the nobility, and this destiny he took very seriously. He is a classic example of a traditional griot, and as such refused to 'sell out' praises to anyone. Instead he studied the extensive range of legends and myths of Segou and the bambara epic, using the examples of the heroes of these legends to praise positive human qualities. His limitations he turned into an advantage, by studying the ngoni and becoming the undisputed and inimitable master of this instrument.

He lived through the degradation of the colonial era, through two world wars, experienced the struggle for - and subsequent joy of - independance. At the end of the colonial era, in 1952, he was one of the first 'native' artists to be recorded by Radio Soudan, when he accompanied Koni Coumaré.

In the first decade of Mali's independance Bazoumana evolved to the status of national monument, not just by writing the music of the national anthem of the new state (the lyrics were written by Seydou Badian Kouyaté), but also by his contribution to each and every national event. Very soon in hearing Bazoumana on Radio Mali Malians knew that an important event had taken place or was taking place, whether it was a day of national celebration or of national mourning.

After the military coup d'état in 1968, led by 'Balla' Moussa Traoré, Bazoumana was rarely seen (although his music was still heard on the radio). A passage in one of his rare songs from this era where he sings that a griot can not serve two masters (jatigui) is interpreted as an explanation for his absence from the 'limelight'.

His withdrawal from public life after 1968 did not result in Bazoumana fading from the memories of the Malian people. Instead the myth surrounding Bazoumana grew. It was said that in the heat of a performance he had put his beloved ngoni aside,and the instrument had continued playing on his own*. Even today you can still hear stories (or myths) about Bazoumanaba and his magic ngoni.

When Bazoumana died in 1987, it was said that one of the legendary balanzan trees, which stand at the entrance of the town of Segou and which are symbols of Segou's status as a former empire and craddle of bambara culture, had fallen.


This cassette is a local copy of a recording made by Radio Mali. I have asked several people about the date or year of these recordings, but have been unable to get a unanimous verdict....

FG 1162

* this was actually confirmed to me by (people who I consider to be) very reliable and down-to-earth witnesses.

The young lioness

Teningnini Damba (who surely must be 'Tenin' by now*) has built her whole career on the repertoire of her father, the legendary 'Vieux Lion' Bazoumana Sissoko. She has reworked and rearranged a great number of his songs, and has had quite a bit of success in Mali and with Malians outside of Mali.
I can imagine it may be hard for an outsider to understand the appeal of her work. Because she doesn't have the voice of a nightingale (unless you count nightingales of the Nigerian or Congolese variety) or the accompanying group of Hawa Dramé.

So it must be the legacy of her father.
Bazoumanaba's version of the song in this video was released on the second of the two Bärenreiter-Musicaphon lp's (BM 30 L 2553). The sleeve notes read: "Sarafo really originates from Moorish folk-lore; but it has also been sung for Siaka Traoré at Kémè-Na near Barawili".
Need I say more?


* the "ini" bit of the name means "little", as in "young".