Search - Toumani Symmetric Orchestra Diabate :: Boulevard De I'Independance

Glorious and Lush

applewood | everywhere and nowhere | 01/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Diabate's distinctive singing and Kora playing (West African lute/harp) is beautifullly enhanced with the backing of the Symmetric Orchestra. With big band arrangements for percussions, horns, guitar and vocals the sound is irresistably lively (sometimes like Nigerian Highlife), but also smooth and urbane (like Youssou N'Dour and Super Etoile's mbalax sound). Helpful liner notes as well put the orchestra and songs into context.



Strangely enough, I'm reminded of the big band treatment Frank Zappa's tunes have gotten recently; creative arrangements of complex material yielding an easy listening experience.



This recording embodies what I love about African music - superb musicianship playing complex rhythms, with contemporary sensibilty and traditional, timeless grounding."

One of the best albums I've ever owned

Brent V. Keener | Fredericksburg, Virginia | 02/13/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is sheer brilliance and I just can't seem to get sick of it. Unlike Toumani Diabate's other albums (all of which are great as well; see especially IN THE HEART OF THE MOON), this album has more of a big-band sound to it. It's significantly more jazzy and less acoustic than his other work. The "Symmetric Orchestra" adds an incredible touch to Diabate's already-amazing musicianship. The vocals in "Wasso," "Mamadou Diaby," and "Boulevard de l'Independence" are breathtakingly gorgeous and provide a calmer, more spiritual sound to the jazzed and high-energy tracks like "Africa Challenge," "Toumani," and "Single."



All in all, a great album: diverse, unique, traditional elements juxtaposed with modern sounds, inspirational, energetic, reflective: perfection. My only complaint is that I wish it had more tracks, but an album this good would never have enough tracks to satiate my ears - it would always keep me wanting more!



Give this album a Grammy!"

Toumani Diabate Symmetric Orchestra

GH | Italy | 08/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The last album that had this kind of quality and energy was Orchestra Baobab's Specialist in all Styles. The difference here comes from the way the producers and musicians have been able to compress a music with so much dynamism while retaining the live essence of the recording session.



Prior to releasing Boulevard de L'Independance, Toumani Diabate teamed up with the late Ali Farka Toure on "In the Heat of the Moon", where the two of them jammed and improvised from some of Ali Farka Toure's own repertoire.



By contrast this album has a completely different sound. It is at times street music, and at times a calling or love song. The sleeve notes that go with the CD explain the meaning of the songs in English and French.



Additionally as Toumani explains on the accompanying DVD, he sees music as a river from which a listener can quench only as much thirst they have. A lake that will still remain to be drunk from in the future.



His wish is to rebuild the Mande Empire by uniting musicians from different parts of West African disapora. Band members are from Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Guinea among others. What it means for the listener is they get to hear a music with influences taken across an area Africa rarely found on a single CD. The musical arrangements are contemporary and traditional creating visual soundscapes from this wide range of influences.



All in all this is one of the finest World Music CDs of 2006 and for someone looking for an introduction into one of the most dynamic musical forms currently on the planet, it is a recommended purchase."