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| Summer 2007, Vol: Seven |
John Pareles at the
Bonnaroo Music Festival
Asheville, N.C., may not seem like a
stronghold for African-rooted music, but Toubab Drewe has soaked up the
patterns and rhythms of music from Mal, Zimbabwe, Congo, Brazil and the
Caribbean and added a hint of Jerry Garcia's legato guitar. One guitarist
doubled on Malian instruments - kora and ngoni - and two drummers played
interludes of planned unison rhythms like Brazilian sambareggae percussion
unit. Instead of free-form, jam-band leads, the guitarists expanded the
songs with African-style patterns, circling and subtly shifting. The
six-beat grooves sneaked up on listeners but then they took hold; midway
through one song, two, then four, then dozens of dancers were suddenly
bobbing to the music.
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Afropop.org - CD
Review
This adventurous quintet out of Asheville,
North Carolina, has set a new standard for fusions of rock 'n' roll and
West Afrtican music. With few exceptions - like Mali's Amadou Bagayoko and
Lobi Traore - not many Africans who attempt the genre have the necessary
depth and nuance n their rock playing. And as for Americans playing
African music, the obstacles are obvous and plentiful. The fact that these
musicians have studied variously in Mali, Guinea and Ivory Coast, including
a band trip to Conakry, in no way guarantees that they should play West
African music as well as they do. When Justin Perkins rips into a
kamelengoni (12-string version of what is usually a 6-string harp) break
on the song "Bani," it's hard to believe that you are not
hearing a young turk from Mali's Wassoulou country tearing lose with his
hottest riffs. His kora playing is also quite good, particulary on the
band's version of the traditional Manding song
"Salimou."
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TOUR
DATES
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| DATE |
CITY |
TIME |
VENUE |
TOURING WITH |
| July 14 |
Portland, OR
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Goodfoot Lounge
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Jackson, WY
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Mangy Moose
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| July 19 |
Big
Sky, MT
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Meado Village Pavilion
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Sevent Day,
VT
Toubab Krewe's take on African music is about
as good as it gets without buying a plane ticket. Although most of the
group's members hail from Asheville, North Carolina, bassist David Pransky
lives in Cabot, and they sometimes rehearse in the Green Mountains. The
quintet recently wowed audiences at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee,
and they'll play Alban, Vermont's Northeast Kingdom Music Festival in
August. Fans of top-notch world music well want to pick up a copy of
Toubab Krewe's self-titled debut well before then.
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| | Toubab Krewe · PO Box 8843 · Asheville ·
NC · 28814 |
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