Moriba Kaba

In 1988 he was not one to push himself to the forefront. He hadn't been part of the European tours of the years before, so he was 'outside'.
Guitarist Mama Sissoko had moved himself in the limelight during the concerts in Holland, and - according to some - was rivalling for the position of leader of the orchestra, after the retirement of Amadou 'Armstrong' Bah. But sax player (and hunter) Mamadou Diarra better known as 'Blick' had filled that position, a logical choice given the historic focus on the horn section.
I had met with Toussaint Siané a few months before, and had been spotted by Amadou Bah when he was touring in Ségou on his Yamaha motorcycle while I was trying to get some money out of the bank.

Singer Papa Gaoussou Diarra I didn't meet until I saw Super Biton play at the Hotel GTM on November 19, 1988.

Both public and bandmembers addressed him as Papus, at the the time. Later on, after he had made three solo albums (one of these is posted here), he acquired the surname of "Pèkèlè", after one of his hit songs. But to me he will always be linked to the concert at the Hotel GTM.

A few days ago I received news that he has died on January 25, at the age of just 56.

By way of a tribute to Papus I would like to share with you the song that earned him a place in my list of best musical moments ever.
This song was the opening song of the concert at the Hotel GTM in Ségou. Technicians of Malian television were still installing their equipment to record a few songs, which were to be part of a celebratory emission for the (then) president Moussa Traoré. On guitar is, of course, Mama Sissoko, and the vocal in this Malinké classic is by Papa Gaoussou Diarra.

Moriba Kaba (flac)

Additionally here is a video of a song featuring Papa Diarra, recorded at the Institut Français in Bamako in October 2011. The sound is slightly overmodulated (sorry).

Papus

After the lingering demise of Super Biton from Ségou (Mali), which set in after the European tour in 1986 and the subsequent retirement of longtime chef d'orchestre Amadou Bah, most of the bandmembers tried to save their musical hides. Some left for other orchestras, others embarked on solo 'projects'. One of the more succesful of these projects was one by a singer who hadn't joined the orchestra on the European tour.

I have never found out why Papa Gaoussou Diarra, a.k.a. Papus was left out of the line-up. Maybe he had fallen out of favour with the regional authorities. Or maybe he was left behind for musical reasons; because Papa Diarra had a secondary role with Biton, and was not one of the front men. During concerts he usually sang the 'lesser' tracks, which with Biton -as an orchestra from a Bambara region*- meant the Malinké classics.

The title track of this cassette was quite a hit in the late 1990. And I can imagine why. The whole cassette has an unpretentiousness, and (I am told) deals with everyday subjects of everyday people. The tunes are at least related to the repertoire of Super Biton, without being direct copies; the second track is the exception to this rule, as it is a version of the track Biton played at the last (old style) Biennale in 1988.
But all in all it's a very enjoyable cassette.

EDIT December 10, 2010: I see our friend Ngoni has posted a video if the song "Bila Siraba (52)". The copy of this video I have is nowhere near this quality...

Papa Gaoussou Diarra - Bilasirabaga door Melynga

EDIT: February 8, 2015: I have had to replace the video with another copy on dailymotion.

*and I know there are other ethncial groups in the Ségou region...