The Music Hall
Intimately Yours Introduces
A Night of Blues and Afro Pop
Double Bill with
Righteous Babe Records star Toshi Reagon
“Mixing folk, rock, funk, and gospel this soulful socially conscious
singer-songwriter speaks truth to power.” – Acoustic Guitar
&
Subpop Records’ Bassekou Kouyate + his band, Ngoni Ba
First US tour for band from Mali, touring behind its latest CD
BBC World Music Award nominee, Best Newcomer
“One of top 12 albums to watch” – National Geo
Outreach Partner: Rain for the Sahel and the Sahara
Thursday, April 1, 2010 7:30pm.
Toshi Reagon (l) & Bassekou Kouyate (r)
The Music Hall’s latest installment in its Intimately Yours series is A Night of Blues and Afro Pop on Thursday April 1, 2010 – a double bill with Righteous Babe Records (Ani DiFranco label) star Toshi Reagon and Subpop Records (Nirvana label) “Malian Maestro” Bassekou Kouyate and his band, Ngoni Ba. The selection is a new twist to The Music Hall’s wildly popular pop concert series, Intimately Yours – Intimately Yours Introduces. And, it’s an interesting double bill since American blues traces its roots to West Africa and to the Sahel region of modern-day Mali where Kouyate and Ngoni Ba are from.
Outreach Partner: Rain for Sahel and Sahara
And, in another bit of serendipity, the evening’s Outreach Partner is the Portsmouth-based group, Rain for the Sahel and the Sahara, which supports the nomadic peoples of West Africa to improve their lives through education, water security, agriculture, and income-producing activities. Representatives from the group will be on hand during the evening selling Tuareg Jewelry and handmade Niger crafts to Music Hall patrons.
Patricia Lynch, Executive Director of The Music Hall, talks about putting this double bill together, “If you were in the audience the night of the Ray LaMontagne concert and were blown away by the opener, Brandi Carlile, you know what it’s like to be in the presence of soon-to-be-stars – and we’re thrilled to let our Music Hall audience in on this cool double bill. Many will recognize Toshi Reagon’s name – yes, she is the daughter of Bernice Johnson Reagon, of Sweet Honey and the Rock fame, and yes, she’s named for her godmother, Toshi Seeger, wife of her godfather, Pete Seeger. We saw her in New York City were she was the toast of the town! With six albums to her credit, this soulful singer songwriter will be doing a solo acoustic set.”
Music Hall Programming Manager Therese LaGamma picks up the thread – she had the opportunity to see Bassekou Kouyate and his band Ngoni Ba at the World Music Expo in Seville last year and was blown away. She just spoke to Bassekou on his current national tour with banjo wizard Bela Fleck. “Bassekou comes from a long line of griots or musicians – here is how Bassekou explains that tradition, ‘Our tradition is to play music for our warriors, our kings etc. Wedding processionals and baptisms – we are messengers. And it’s griots that help reconcile two villages or people who are fighting.’ Bassekou is a virtuoso picker and musical visionary – he and his band are fresh from jamming with Bono, Bonnie Raitt and Bela Fleck, and have just started their first US tour behind their new CD, I Speak Fula. His band’s name means ‘large lute’ – the band plays four spike lutes which are the predecessor of the banjo. And, their lead singer, his wife, Amy Sacko, is considered to be the ‘Tina Turner of Mali’ It will be a sensational night of discovery at The Music Hall – don’t miss out!”
About Toshi Reagon
Toshi was born in Atlanta, grew up in Washington, D.C., and has been living in Brooklyn, NY, for the past 20 years. Her parents were part of the Freedom Singers, who fought for Civil Rights in the ’60s. Her mother was also a founding member of Sweet Honey in the Rock. Her music is powerfully soulful and clearly rooted in folk, gospel and the blues. Her presence on stage is electrifying and irresistible, and it’s no wonder–she’s been performing for much of her life. Reagon dropped out of college when she was invited to open for Lenny Kravitz on tour. Since then, she’s performed with everyone from Pete Seeger to Chaka Kahn, Dar Williams, Elvis Costello, and Ani DiFranco, whose Righteous Babe label she’s signed too. Toshi also worked on several projects with her mother and Sweet Honey In the Rock. In some ways, singer Toshi Reagon is a throwback to classic R & B artists, like Stevie Wonder or Prince, or old school rock groups like Led Zeppelin; she can take any style, update it, and make it her own with incredible ease. Despite (or because of) her genre-bending, Toshi fits comfortably on a stage at Carnegie Hall, or in a rock club. Toshi is an artist who’s known for energetic performances and an exemplary gift for writing engaging songs that provoke listeners to think and have fun at the same time. Her first big break came when Lenny Kravitz invited her to open for him on his first world tour. Her political consciousness is as ingrained in her music as the multiple genres she embraces. Believing music is the way she deals with her political energy, she has said, “From where you are, from who you are in your everyday life, that’s where you make change…whatever your gig is, make change through your strength.” www.toshireagon.com
About Bassekou Kouyate and his band, Ngoni Ba
“Malian maestro” Bassekou Kouyate is a virtuoso picker and musical visionary whose work blurs the lines between West African and American roots music. He descends from a long line of griots, traditional historians and praise musicians. His father Moustapha Kouyate played the ngoniba, or “large lute,” and his mother Yakare Damba is a singer. Bassekou has jammed with Bonnie Raitt and Bono, won praise from Eric Clapton. He’s also dug into blues and country music with Taj Mahal, who introduced him to the United States, and created freewheeling improvisations with banjo maverick Bela Fleck. Bassekou’s instrument, the ngoni, is a “spike lute” and an ancestor of the banjo, sharing its taut-skinned drum body, percussive attack, and varied picking techniques. Since 2005, Bassekou has led Ngoni Ba, the first-ever group built around not one but four ngonis—all played by members of his family. The group’s second CD I Speak Fula came out on Sub Pop in February of 2010 on the occasion of Bassekou’s first U.S. tour as a headliner. BBC World Music Award nominee, Best Newcomer. www.myspace.com/bassekoukouyate
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