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Genre:

Jazz Traditional manding

Instrument:

Guitar Cora Ngoni Balafon

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Biography

Zoumana Diarra belongs to the ethnic group Bobo i Mali. His father was a griot (or jali), and Zou llearnt to play n'goni, balafon (xylofon) and guitar as a boy. He started his first band as a twelve year old and found out at an early age that he wanted to become a professional musician. Zoumana Diarra played in Alfa Blondy's reggae band Dafrasta. After having won a music reward in the Ivory Coast at the age of 19, he went back to Mali and continued playing there, with bands like Super Biton and legenary Rail Band. Since Zoumana Diarra was a boy he has been dreaming of going to Holland, as he saw the Dutch milk tins with a nice picture of a cow and a wind mill. Nowadays Zou has realized the dream and is based in Holland, where he plays jazz rock as well as rai and dance music and is involved in a lot of projects. He is increasingly asked for as a jazz musician.

Relevant artists:
Orchestra Baobab
Oumou Sangare
Bembeya Jazz National
Boy Ge Mendes
Tcheka

BALLAD OF MANDING  
Djenne/Sterns Africa/1997

"Ballad of Manding" is Zoumana Diarra's first solo project, and it comes out quite nicely. Diarra plays folk based guitar jazz, and in the same way as Ali Farka Touré's African blues becomes drier and lighter than the American, this guitar jazz is more playful the most music within this genre. Diarra plays with a team of musicians on balafon, piano and talking drum, and the music is pleasant as a summer wind. The Latin influence is unquestionably there, this is different from a lot of other African music. It's varied as well.
This CD is part of my arsenal against grey and grumpy days.

DJOULOLOU  
Djennè/Stern`s Africa/1997

This is a CD with one of Zoumana Diarra's bands, Benkadi International. It is an interesting record, the group tries to establish its own expression in an unusual genre, West African jazz. Oumou Sangare as well as Bembeya Jazz lurks in the background. There are many good attemps here, Zoumana Diarra is a brilliant guitarist, and Benkadi International gives him a good support, on vocals, bass and drums. The record is best when the group sticks to its more melodiuos stuff, where it takes care of the folk roots, like on the tracks "Setou" and "Ali-O-Diallo Mbaye". Here I think the group manages what it has in mind: To create a new and modern jazz expression, built on the Mande tradition. Also the track "Yaya-Oh" works well, Zoumana Diarra improvises with his lightning fast riffs up against the sparkling bass playing of Abdou Camara, improvisations that make me remember the cooperation between Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce in the days of the Cream. But this is difinitely African. But too often the group embarks into soulless and boring jazz rock. It sounds as if the Benkadi International members are better instrumentalists than composers, they have made all the music together.

A MANDING JOURNEY  
Zou/2004

Zou Diarra is finally here with a new album, even on his own label. The record is not distributed through the ordinary commercial system, but can be ordered from Zou's website (see over) or be obtained from the man himself at gigs.
So what has this fine guitarist to offer this time? I have to confess that I have had certain expectations to this this album after the light and beautiful "Ballad of Manding". Well, Zou Diarra does basically the same as he has done before, maybe with a more traditional orientation. "Ballad of Manding" is in fact to a large extent a kora based album. But the featherlight tunes are there as on "Ballad-", and the guitar/kora playing is at times superb. Zou Diarra is the kind of musician who is able to keep a tune floating on its rhythm even if themes and melody lines can be difficult to grasp. On "A Manding Journey" he does exactly that. On "Manding tama", for instance, a beautiful kora piece, or on "Sara", in a kora duet with his own balafon and guitar. On this album Zou Diarra plays all the instruments himself, guitar, kora, ngoni and balaphon, even percussion. He also, as mentioned, plays duets with himself, often accoustic vs electric, which works excellent. The tunes are not bad either, mostly traditional sounding, they sail along, light as summer clouds. But one hour with this lightness is too much, and one starts longing for variation on a CD without vocals. Zou Diarra could perhaps have achieved this by a more critical choice of tracks, or by arranging his music for a bigger group, i.e. with bass and/or violin/flute, maybe even sax. It is difficult to avoid that a dynamic dimension is lost when a musician is just relating to himself through a whole album.
Consequently I feel that Zou Diarra's potencial is bigger than what is shown on this CD.
Even if the man has produced some of the coolest, laidback and most feelgood music I know.

LIVE AT BUCKSHOT CAFE  
SIL/2006

Benkadi International is, as you may know by now, a Holland based group of West African musicians. (Supported by Richard Has & Bas Blanken on bass and rhythm guitar.) The Benkadi musicians have found their musical niche by playing basically traditional Mande music, self composed though, in a jazz/rock manner. There are many good things to say about this group. They play well together, especially Zou Diarra is a technically skilled musician, he produces lots of ligtning fast riffs in interplay with Bas Blanken, and is the driving force of the band. Idrissa Magassa is a good singer, singing in the nasal Mande way. Drummer Keith Williams keeps the rhythms steady. This live recording is also techically good, and the band as a whole sounds tight and fit.
So why isn't "Live at Buckshot" a killer of a record?
The answer is, I think, to put it very simple, lack of feeling. Zou Diarra's repetative riffs are first and foremost clever. The band sounds as if they're rehearsing these riffs without a thought of what they're playing. It is technically well done, but so what? After a few tracks one simply gets tired of Diarra's intense guitar. Why doesn't the man slow down a little, relax, get the feeling? To me the pauses between the notes are as important as each note.
It seems as if Benkadi International are in need of a professional producer, who can add more elements into this music and/or bring out the potential by some creative arrangements and changes of pace.
For these guys can play, no doubt about that.

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