AfroCubism: Mali meets Cuba

AfroCubism beats Afropessimism: even before the famous Tuareg Festival in the Desert, Mali had staked its claim to a place on the world music map. So it’s hardly surprising that musicians from Mali were invited to Havana at the height of the Buena Vista Social Club’s enormous popularity. For reasons never fully explained – there was talk of missing entry visas – they never arrived. 13 years, numerous Grammy awards and millions of album sales later, this unique idea is being turned into reality with the surviving artists.

The sonero Eliades Ochoa – with his trade mark cowboy hat – and his band, Patria, meet a selection of Mali’s most outstanding musicians: Toumani Diabaté made the 22-string Kora world-famous and collaborated with Taj Mahal, Roswell Rudd, Björk. Bassekou Kouyaté, with his Ngoni lute, is credited with rejuvenating the traditional Griot musical style.

A top class line-up appearing in Germany for the first time: Eliades Ochoa (Vocals, Guitar), Kassé Mady Diabaté (Vocals), Bassekou Kouyaté (N’goni), Djelimady Tounkara (Guitar), Baba Sissoko (Tamani), Lassana Diabaté (Balafon), Toumani Diabaté (Kora), Eglis Ochoa Hidalgo (Maracas), Alain A. Dragonit, Lennis Lara (Trumpet); Osnel Odit (Guitar, Trés), Jose A. Martinez (Contrabass); Jorge Maturell Romero (Congas)