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Performing together as Acoustic Africa, three of Africa’s best live performers – Habib Koité, Vusi Mahlasela, and Dobet Gnahoré – come to the Williams Center for the Arts 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11.
Tickets are free for students, $4 for faculty and staff, and $20 for the public. They can be obtained by calling the Williams Center box office at (610) 330-5009. The remaining performance in the Sound Alternatives Series is Music from China Friday, Feb. 2, $20.
Putumayo Records has created another triumph of world music with Acoustic Africa’s tour, featuring Koité from Mali, Mahlasela from South Africa, and Gnahoré from the Ivory Coast.
In a 2005 Williams Center performance, Koité thrilled the audience with dynamic and distinctive music from the rich traditions of Mali, widely regarded as the “mother lode” of African song. Coming from a noble line of Khassonké griots, or African musical poets, Koité inherited his passion for music from his paternal grandfather and developed his unique guitar style accompanying his griot mother.
Though he was headed for a career as an engineer, Koité changed his mind and enrolled at the National Institute of Arts in Bamako, Mali. He later went on to form his own group, Bamada, which has since made many albums and received numerous awards and critical acclaim. Koité has performed with such artists as Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt.
Mahlasela’s songs combine traditional vocal styles with the more contemporary sound heard in Amandla, the celebrated documentary film about the role of music in South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle. As a young boy growing up in Mamelodi, South Africa, Mahlasela taught himself to play on a homemade guitar, and soon began to sing and compose his own lyrics.
Mahlasela’s songs address themes of political and social significance, and he found himself in demand at political rallies and cultural events. As his career progressed, he made several albums and continued to be lauded by critics. In 1994, Mahlasela was asked to play at the inauguration of South Africa’s new president Nelson Mandela. Eventually, Mahlasela’s sound and message were brought to the United States by Dave Matthews, a native of South Africa, who would go on to be his producer and collaborator.
In 1999, 23-year-old singer-songwriter Gnahoré left her homeland of the Ivory Coast due to the vicious, ongoing north/south conflict, and settled in Marseille. Once in the thriving multi-cultural music scene of that vibrant French port city, Gnahoré was able to pursue opportunities that had not been available to her in her homeland.
Gnahoré released her debut album, Ano Neko, in 2004 with a band made up of both French and Tunisian members, as well as her master percussionist father, Boni Gnahoré. Her socially conscious lyrics deal with subjects such as the AIDS pandemic, the importance of family, village life, and remembering one’s roots.
Highlighted on Putumayo’s September 5th CD release Acoustic Africa, these distinctive and influential singer-songwriters write and perform contemporary music inspired by their cultural roots. Each has made an effort to remain grounded in his or her region’s musical traditions while being open to external influences.
The Acoustic Africa Tour and CD will also draw attention to some of Africa’s challenging social issues. All three performers are social activists, building awareness of the conditions in Africa that affect the region and the world. The 1980s and early 90s in Africa were punctuated by significant political and social transitions. The direct result was profound on Koité and Mahlasela’s creative output and reflected maturation in their artistic identities.
The 2006-2007 Performance Series at Lafayette College is supported in part by gifts from Friends of the Williams Center for the Arts; by provisions of the Josephine Chidsey Williams Endowment, Alan and Wendy Pesky Artist-in-Residence Program, James Bradley Fund, and the Ed Brunswick Jazz Fund; and by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour; the F.M. Kirby Foundation, Dexter and Dorothy Baker Foundation, and New England Foundation for the Arts.