Mali, USA - 1995
Mande Music, Jazz
If l ask you to name great jazz pianists, Hank Jones' name probably won't come out first. However, Elvin Jones' brother, with his delicate and lyrical style, played with some of the greatest, Charlie Parker, Artie Shaw, Max Roach or Lester Young to name a few. Hank Jones' journey encompasses the entire history of Black music. His father was a Baptist deacon, so gospel wasn't that far, and then he discovered swing and embraced it, until bebop became the most important jazz style thanks to artists like Charlie Parker. And that lead him to the Malian artist Cheick Tidiane Seck who helped him reunite with the African roots of jazz.
Cheick Tidiane Seck only released his first album in 1995, but like a lot of other African artists, Seck has been playing music since the 1970s, and was already recognized as one of the most important Malian musician of his time back then. Ornette Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Carlos Santana, Randy Weston, Seck also had a very successful career outside Mali and worked with the greatests. But the consecration for Cheick Tidiane Seck came
with his first release with Hank Jones in 1995, Sarala, where both keyboardists both reach the climax of their respective artistry.
During one hour and thirteen minutes, the music flows in your ears endlessly. Sarala is a unique testimony of how close jazz (since bebop) and traditional West African music are (here Mande
music, music that was played along the Niger River). This fusion of style highlights the better parts of each genre. On Fantagué, Komidiara and Walidi Ya especially, the keyboard playing is as danceable as contemporary house beats. The groove both artists are able to create with their instruments is a total bliss to forget yourself into.
By far one of the most tragically forgotten jazz album of all time, Sarala is a sublime love letter to music as a whole, and the occasion for two legendary musicians usually working in the shadow to finally shine over the world for one of the most memorable encounter of all.
Cheick Tidiane Seck only released his first album in 1995, but like a lot of other African artists, Seck has been playing music since the 1970s, and was already recognized as one of the most important Malian musician of his time back then. Ornette Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Carlos Santana, Randy Weston, Seck also had a very successful career outside Mali and worked with the greatests. But the consecration for Cheick Tidiane Seck came
with his first release with Hank Jones in 1995, Sarala, where both keyboardists both reach the climax of their respective artistry.
During one hour and thirteen minutes, the music flows in your ears endlessly. Sarala is a unique testimony of how close jazz (since bebop) and traditional West African music are (here Mande
music, music that was played along the Niger River). This fusion of style highlights the better parts of each genre. On Fantagué, Komidiara and Walidi Ya especially, the keyboard playing is as danceable as contemporary house beats. The groove both artists are able to create with their instruments is a total bliss to forget yourself into.
By far one of the most tragically forgotten jazz album of all time, Sarala is a sublime love letter to music as a whole, and the occasion for two legendary musicians usually working in the shadow to finally shine over the world for one of the most memorable encounter of all.