Hello, we still find ourselves in an environment that gave rise to the worlds monotheistic religions be it on the Arabian peninsula, here we stay in the Saharan/Sahel band stretching from the West-Atlantic coast to the highlands of Ethiopia in the east of the continent, a vast area where fresh water tends to come at a premium , where the sun is burning down during daytime and nighttime can be cold, where the moon is the sole light source apart from the warming campfires. Is it any surprise then that singing and making music together lifted the spirits of those gathering in these desolate landscapes. And the moon became their God.
Today more from Mali, it has one of the most intensely musical cultures in all Africa, and among that country¹s greatest musicians is the guitarist Djelimady Tounkara. While he's not nearly as well known as his compatriot Ali Farka Touré, he has been a driving force in Mali's rich music scene since the early 60s. . .......N'joy
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Born in the culturally rich town of Kita, west of the Malian capital, Bamako, Djelimady grew up surrounded with traditional music played by members of his family, griots, musicians and historians by birth. Djelimady played djembe drum and ngoni, a banjo-like lute, as a boy. When he moved to Mali's capital, Bamako, during the 1960s, he had actually planned to work as a tailor. But music proved a stronger calling. He started playing guitar in a large, government-sponsored neighborhood band, Orchestre Misira. Voted the best guitarist in the band, Djelimady was selected to join the Orchestre National as rhythm guitarist, a great honor for the young player.
All his adult life, Djelimady has worked to transform his ancestral traditions into dance pop. But at the same time, he has continued to work in more traditional contexts, backing the great griot singers of Mali on records, in concerts and at the day-long wedding and baptism celebrations that are the modern griot's life blood. Djelimady Tounkara & the Rail Band’s renewal.
It was Djelimady Tounkara who restructured the Rail Band to give birth to the Super Rail Band international. Tidiani Koné gave up on his leadership over the group and joined the Poly Rythmo orchestra in Cotonou, Benin. Mory Kanté, lead singer, found solo careeer opportunities and recorded his first album without the Rail Band. Djelimady’s new Rail Band played live very often, either at local open air weekend balls such as the ones held at Ifossi’s dance hall, or in large Malian & Ivorian Dioulas baptism & marriage ceremonies.
Djelimady’s brother Issa Tounkara played the bass, Cheikh Tidiane Seck was at the organ & Djelimoussa Kouyaté on the backing guitar. The rest of the personnel is uncertain (possibly Dexter Johnson on saxophone). They recorded their « Affair Social » LP for Nigerian producer Lassissi (tracks 2, 5, 7 & 8) at the Radio Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI) in poor studio conditions, revealing the technical limits of the local record industry. But Lassissi’s international distribution network guaranteed a modest visibility to the group in Western countries’ record stores.
During the same period, manager Mady Sanfo was also the producer of three LP’s led by Tounkara. The quality of those Togolese OTODI recordings is much better than the RTI sessions. Djelimady developed a side project called Trio Manding du Mali together with D. Kouyate & I. Tounkara. The sound of this short lived group was very similar to Rail Band’s OTODI sessions. Female singer Sadio Kouyaté (who was singing live with Djelimady by then) and Ghanaian organist (possibly Ernest Honny) joined for an unusual meeting between mandingo singing style & jazzy piano on track 1. On tracks 3, 4 & 6, the group is credited as Djelimady Tounkara et le Rail Band du Mali. Those tunes differ quite strongly from the earlier band’s style, whether it’s straight manding style melted with jazzy influenced organ or Malian disco funk.
The late seventies and early eighties were the beginning of an era for Mali’s most proeminent group. The recordings evidence the new leader’s talent, who gave the group a new breath for quite a long time. While Djelimady proved how skilled accomplished and creative he was as a guitar virtuoso or an inventive leader. He is the proeminent influence behind those Rail Band’s recordings which are quite singular compared to the group’s remaining discography.
In recent years, Djelimady has performed in an acoustic trio called Bajourou, accompanied by another masterful griot guitarist, Bouba Sacko, and by singer Lafia Diabate, a veteran of the Rail Band.
In 2001, he has won the BBC Radio 3 music award in World Music - "Africa" category for his album titled Sigui.
In 2002, Djelimady collaborated on a track with rapper Common for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot and Riot in tribute to the Nigerian afropop innovator, Fela Kuti. Tounkara plays a prominent role in the book In Griot Time by American
musician and author Banning Eyre. 2005 saw the release of his 2nd soloalbum Solon Kôno with support from several female vocalists as we as Sekou Kante on bass, Samba Diabate on guitar and guests on drums and ngoni. It was very much a continuation of his previous great album Siqui. Then in 2007 a compilation of 78/79 recordings with the Super Rail Band, Allo Bamako. The late seventies and early eighties were the beginning of an era for Mali’s most proeminent group. The recordings evidence the new leader’s talent, who gave the group a new breath for quite a long time.
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Djelimady Tounkara has achieved legendary status as the leader of Mali's Super Rail Band; now he gets the chance to step out on his own for the first time with Sigui, and it's a gorgeous experience. On a mix of Super Rail cuts and traditional Malian songs performed acoustically, he gets a chance to show the true breadth and depth of his immense talent. For much of the album he's content to lead from the back, letting others -- be they singers or ngoni players -- take the spotlight -- with his fretwork introducing the numbers then adding runs to slide through the song and push it along gently. But on both "Djoura" and "Samakoun" it's all Tounkara, and the stunning fluency of his invention and expression is a joy to hear. He's been called one of the three best guitarists in the world, and on the basis of this, it's possible that title doesn't even do him justice. The sumptuous, swinging solo in "Mande Djeliou" is a lesson in how to play the guitar, staying rooted in your own tradition but still taking on board influences from all areas of music and making them entirely your own. And to prove it's no fluke, he shows again and again just how to play, such as with the solo of "Amary Ndaou." a sheer masterpiece of construction. Whether working in the griot tradition that informs the title cut and "Yamaryo," or the praise singing of "Amary Ndaou," Tounkara reinvents the Manding tradition in glorious fashion, with a vibrancy that illustrates exactly why he's deified as a player. An essential for people who considers themselves guitarists or guitar lovers.
Djelimady Tounkara - Sigui (flac 301mb)
01 Mande Djeliou 5:10
02 Gnima Diala 5:08
03 Sigui 5:04
04 Ayebo 4:38
05 Diaoura 5:21
06 Amary Ndaou 5:33
07 Djanfa Magni 4:38
08 Samakoun 2:28
09 Makan Djan Woule 5:06
10 Senelalou 4:05
11 Yamaryo 3:46
Djelimady Tounkara - Sigui (ogg 141mb)
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Solon Kôno, his second solo recording, features Tounkara giving free reign to his prodigious improvisational talents. The former bandleader and soloist of the Super Rail Band shows his composing and arranging skills alongside his awesome guitar playing. Artists include vocalists Mountaga Diabate, Samba Sissoko, Mariam "M'Baou" Tounkara, and Mariam "Djodjo" Diabate; bassist Sekou Kante; guitarist Samba Diabate; and guests on drums and ngoni. Originally released in 2005 on Marabi
Djelimady Tounkara - Solon Kôno (flac 325mb)
01 Fanta Bourama 5:47
02 Ikadigné 4:43
03 Solon Kôno 4:01
04 Bolondola 5:45
05 M'Bématoma 5:49
06 Téguindo 5:52
07 Adama 3:57
08 Kanougnogon 4:51
09 Sarankégni 4:51
10 Téyé 4:34
Djelimady Tounkara - Solon Kôno (ogg 140mb)
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Between 1978 & 1979, the Rail Band orchestra left Bamako, capital city of Mali, for a tour in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, West Africa. This was an inspired move from their former manager Burkinabe Mady Sanfo, as this trip would be the starting point of international careers for artists such as Mory Kanté (Rail Band’s lead singer since Salif Keita’s departure in 1972), Cheikh Tidiane Seck (piano & organ), band leader Tidiani Koné (saxophone & trumpet) or Djelimady Tounkara (lead guitar). It also gave a new breath to the 10 year old Rail Band orchestra.
Allo Bamako
Malian popular music styles were already quite popular in West Africa and Europe. The Malian government was willing to define a consistent national identity through cultural policies that also encouraged local cultural expressions. Since the 1960 independance, the main cities’ regional orchestras (Kayes, Mopti, Gao, Sikasso…) received public grants as well as Bamako’s Rail Band. Cultural festivals were officially held from the end of the1960’s throughout the 70’s. Those events reminded Malians & foreigners that Mali had a complex diversity and a conscious unity despite the recent colonial disaster. The Malian State also encouraged the spreading of Malian musics beyond the countries’ frontiers. The reception by other West Africans might have been favoured by their exposure to Malian cultural expressions during the long Malian empire domination prior to the European colonization. Important migrations to Ivory Coast and Senegal led to the establishment of large groups of Malian peoples in those hosting lands during the post-colonial period.
Malian migrants living in Abidjan remained closely related to their homeland and massively attended the Rail Band live shows & presentations during the 78-79 tours. Mali’s most famous modern music orchestra went threw important changes during this stay away from home as well as it helped migrants to maintain the communication with Bamako.
The late seventies and early eighties were the beginning of an era for Mali’s most proeminent group. The recordings evidence the new leader’s talent, who gave the group a new breath for quite a long time. While Djelimady proved how skilled accomplished and creative he was as a guitar virtuoso or an inventive leader. He is the proeminent influence behind those Rail Band’s recordings which are quite singular compared to the group’s remaining discography.
Djelimady Tounkara & L'Orchestre Super Rail Band International - Allo Bamako (flac 376mb)
01 Duna Ma Yelema 3:53
02 Baba Drame 4:33
03 Les Enfants de Pierrette 5:39
04 Samba 3:06
05 Bebe Bo Nadero 4:32
06 Tunga Magni 5:13
07 Courir un Homme Qui Vous Aime 3:47
08 Macire 4:49
09 Serrer la Main 4:19
10 Kalilou 4:36
11 Solo de Kar Kar 3:15
12 Kar Kar Madison 5:39
Djelimady Tounkara & L'Orchestre Super Rail Band International - Allo Bamako (ogg 161mb)
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Today more from Mali, it has one of the most intensely musical cultures in all Africa, and among that country¹s greatest musicians is the guitarist Djelimady Tounkara. While he's not nearly as well known as his compatriot Ali Farka Touré, he has been a driving force in Mali's rich music scene since the early 60s. . .......N'joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Born in the culturally rich town of Kita, west of the Malian capital, Bamako, Djelimady grew up surrounded with traditional music played by members of his family, griots, musicians and historians by birth. Djelimady played djembe drum and ngoni, a banjo-like lute, as a boy. When he moved to Mali's capital, Bamako, during the 1960s, he had actually planned to work as a tailor. But music proved a stronger calling. He started playing guitar in a large, government-sponsored neighborhood band, Orchestre Misira. Voted the best guitarist in the band, Djelimady was selected to join the Orchestre National as rhythm guitarist, a great honor for the young player.
All his adult life, Djelimady has worked to transform his ancestral traditions into dance pop. But at the same time, he has continued to work in more traditional contexts, backing the great griot singers of Mali on records, in concerts and at the day-long wedding and baptism celebrations that are the modern griot's life blood. Djelimady Tounkara & the Rail Band’s renewal.
It was Djelimady Tounkara who restructured the Rail Band to give birth to the Super Rail Band international. Tidiani Koné gave up on his leadership over the group and joined the Poly Rythmo orchestra in Cotonou, Benin. Mory Kanté, lead singer, found solo careeer opportunities and recorded his first album without the Rail Band. Djelimady’s new Rail Band played live very often, either at local open air weekend balls such as the ones held at Ifossi’s dance hall, or in large Malian & Ivorian Dioulas baptism & marriage ceremonies.
Djelimady’s brother Issa Tounkara played the bass, Cheikh Tidiane Seck was at the organ & Djelimoussa Kouyaté on the backing guitar. The rest of the personnel is uncertain (possibly Dexter Johnson on saxophone). They recorded their « Affair Social » LP for Nigerian producer Lassissi (tracks 2, 5, 7 & 8) at the Radio Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI) in poor studio conditions, revealing the technical limits of the local record industry. But Lassissi’s international distribution network guaranteed a modest visibility to the group in Western countries’ record stores.
During the same period, manager Mady Sanfo was also the producer of three LP’s led by Tounkara. The quality of those Togolese OTODI recordings is much better than the RTI sessions. Djelimady developed a side project called Trio Manding du Mali together with D. Kouyate & I. Tounkara. The sound of this short lived group was very similar to Rail Band’s OTODI sessions. Female singer Sadio Kouyaté (who was singing live with Djelimady by then) and Ghanaian organist (possibly Ernest Honny) joined for an unusual meeting between mandingo singing style & jazzy piano on track 1. On tracks 3, 4 & 6, the group is credited as Djelimady Tounkara et le Rail Band du Mali. Those tunes differ quite strongly from the earlier band’s style, whether it’s straight manding style melted with jazzy influenced organ or Malian disco funk.
The late seventies and early eighties were the beginning of an era for Mali’s most proeminent group. The recordings evidence the new leader’s talent, who gave the group a new breath for quite a long time. While Djelimady proved how skilled accomplished and creative he was as a guitar virtuoso or an inventive leader. He is the proeminent influence behind those Rail Band’s recordings which are quite singular compared to the group’s remaining discography.
In recent years, Djelimady has performed in an acoustic trio called Bajourou, accompanied by another masterful griot guitarist, Bouba Sacko, and by singer Lafia Diabate, a veteran of the Rail Band.
In 2001, he has won the BBC Radio 3 music award in World Music - "Africa" category for his album titled Sigui.
In 2002, Djelimady collaborated on a track with rapper Common for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot and Riot in tribute to the Nigerian afropop innovator, Fela Kuti. Tounkara plays a prominent role in the book In Griot Time by American
musician and author Banning Eyre. 2005 saw the release of his 2nd soloalbum Solon Kôno with support from several female vocalists as we as Sekou Kante on bass, Samba Diabate on guitar and guests on drums and ngoni. It was very much a continuation of his previous great album Siqui. Then in 2007 a compilation of 78/79 recordings with the Super Rail Band, Allo Bamako. The late seventies and early eighties were the beginning of an era for Mali’s most proeminent group. The recordings evidence the new leader’s talent, who gave the group a new breath for quite a long time.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Djelimady Tounkara has achieved legendary status as the leader of Mali's Super Rail Band; now he gets the chance to step out on his own for the first time with Sigui, and it's a gorgeous experience. On a mix of Super Rail cuts and traditional Malian songs performed acoustically, he gets a chance to show the true breadth and depth of his immense talent. For much of the album he's content to lead from the back, letting others -- be they singers or ngoni players -- take the spotlight -- with his fretwork introducing the numbers then adding runs to slide through the song and push it along gently. But on both "Djoura" and "Samakoun" it's all Tounkara, and the stunning fluency of his invention and expression is a joy to hear. He's been called one of the three best guitarists in the world, and on the basis of this, it's possible that title doesn't even do him justice. The sumptuous, swinging solo in "Mande Djeliou" is a lesson in how to play the guitar, staying rooted in your own tradition but still taking on board influences from all areas of music and making them entirely your own. And to prove it's no fluke, he shows again and again just how to play, such as with the solo of "Amary Ndaou." a sheer masterpiece of construction. Whether working in the griot tradition that informs the title cut and "Yamaryo," or the praise singing of "Amary Ndaou," Tounkara reinvents the Manding tradition in glorious fashion, with a vibrancy that illustrates exactly why he's deified as a player. An essential for people who considers themselves guitarists or guitar lovers.
Djelimady Tounkara - Sigui (flac 301mb)
01 Mande Djeliou 5:10
02 Gnima Diala 5:08
03 Sigui 5:04
04 Ayebo 4:38
05 Diaoura 5:21
06 Amary Ndaou 5:33
07 Djanfa Magni 4:38
08 Samakoun 2:28
09 Makan Djan Woule 5:06
10 Senelalou 4:05
11 Yamaryo 3:46
Djelimady Tounkara - Sigui (ogg 141mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Solon Kôno, his second solo recording, features Tounkara giving free reign to his prodigious improvisational talents. The former bandleader and soloist of the Super Rail Band shows his composing and arranging skills alongside his awesome guitar playing. Artists include vocalists Mountaga Diabate, Samba Sissoko, Mariam "M'Baou" Tounkara, and Mariam "Djodjo" Diabate; bassist Sekou Kante; guitarist Samba Diabate; and guests on drums and ngoni. Originally released in 2005 on Marabi
Djelimady Tounkara - Solon Kôno (flac 325mb)
01 Fanta Bourama 5:47
02 Ikadigné 4:43
03 Solon Kôno 4:01
04 Bolondola 5:45
05 M'Bématoma 5:49
06 Téguindo 5:52
07 Adama 3:57
08 Kanougnogon 4:51
09 Sarankégni 4:51
10 Téyé 4:34
Djelimady Tounkara - Solon Kôno (ogg 140mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Between 1978 & 1979, the Rail Band orchestra left Bamako, capital city of Mali, for a tour in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, West Africa. This was an inspired move from their former manager Burkinabe Mady Sanfo, as this trip would be the starting point of international careers for artists such as Mory Kanté (Rail Band’s lead singer since Salif Keita’s departure in 1972), Cheikh Tidiane Seck (piano & organ), band leader Tidiani Koné (saxophone & trumpet) or Djelimady Tounkara (lead guitar). It also gave a new breath to the 10 year old Rail Band orchestra.
Allo Bamako
Malian popular music styles were already quite popular in West Africa and Europe. The Malian government was willing to define a consistent national identity through cultural policies that also encouraged local cultural expressions. Since the 1960 independance, the main cities’ regional orchestras (Kayes, Mopti, Gao, Sikasso…) received public grants as well as Bamako’s Rail Band. Cultural festivals were officially held from the end of the1960’s throughout the 70’s. Those events reminded Malians & foreigners that Mali had a complex diversity and a conscious unity despite the recent colonial disaster. The Malian State also encouraged the spreading of Malian musics beyond the countries’ frontiers. The reception by other West Africans might have been favoured by their exposure to Malian cultural expressions during the long Malian empire domination prior to the European colonization. Important migrations to Ivory Coast and Senegal led to the establishment of large groups of Malian peoples in those hosting lands during the post-colonial period.
Malian migrants living in Abidjan remained closely related to their homeland and massively attended the Rail Band live shows & presentations during the 78-79 tours. Mali’s most famous modern music orchestra went threw important changes during this stay away from home as well as it helped migrants to maintain the communication with Bamako.
The late seventies and early eighties were the beginning of an era for Mali’s most proeminent group. The recordings evidence the new leader’s talent, who gave the group a new breath for quite a long time. While Djelimady proved how skilled accomplished and creative he was as a guitar virtuoso or an inventive leader. He is the proeminent influence behind those Rail Band’s recordings which are quite singular compared to the group’s remaining discography.
Djelimady Tounkara & L'Orchestre Super Rail Band International - Allo Bamako (flac 376mb)
01 Duna Ma Yelema 3:53
02 Baba Drame 4:33
03 Les Enfants de Pierrette 5:39
04 Samba 3:06
05 Bebe Bo Nadero 4:32
06 Tunga Magni 5:13
07 Courir un Homme Qui Vous Aime 3:47
08 Macire 4:49
09 Serrer la Main 4:19
10 Kalilou 4:36
11 Solo de Kar Kar 3:15
12 Kar Kar Madison 5:39
Djelimady Tounkara & L'Orchestre Super Rail Band International - Allo Bamako (ogg 161mb)
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