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| Kasse Mady Diabate (Mali) | |||
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He was born in 1949 in Kela, a renowned centre of the Mande griot (jeli) tradition in western Mali, near Kangaba, one of the seats of the great Mali empire (1235-1469). Kasse Mady's family, the Diabates of Kela - all of whom are jelis - were the singers for the emperors and their descendants, the royal Keita lineages. And still today they are considered among the most important and authoritative jeli families across seven West African countries where Mande culture predominates. Kasse Mady, which means "Weep -Mady". (Mady is a regional variant of Mohammed - Mohammadu/ Mamadu/ Madu/ Mady). Kasse Mady is the second person ever to be given the name: His grandfather, also from Kela, was the first. Mady the grandfather had such a beautiful voice that when he sang, he would move people to tears, hence his nickname "Kasse from Kassi, (to weep). Kasse Mady the younger was given this name at birth to honour the grandfather. But no one in the family could imagine that his voice would have the same power and ability to move people to extreme states of emotion. While still a young boy, Kasse Mady began singing at local weddings and other ceremonies, and in c. 1970 he was invited to become the lead singer of the dance orchestra of the nearby town Kangaba. This orchestra was called the Super Mande, a name his brother Lafia Diabate, also a well-known singer, now uses for his own band based in Bamako. This was an important period in Mali because of the new Cultural Authenticity policies which were in vogue in the newly independent nation states of West Africa. In Mali, as elsewhere, musicians were encouraged to return to their own folklore instead of imitating rock and roll or Cuban music. As it happened, Kasse Mady's special blend of traditional Mande folklore with modern instruments was to play an important role in this movement. Not long before that, a group of eight musicians who had been studying music in Cuba had returned to Mali and formed the group Las Maravillas de Mali, famous for their charanga interpretations of Cuban classics. But according to the dictates of Cultural Authenticity they had to begin to take on more of a Malian repertoire. After hearing Kasse Mady perform at the Biennale, they decided that he was the one to do this. The chef d'orchestre was sent down to Kela,104 kms west of Bamako down a bumpy dirt road, to find the singer. After various ritual consultations with the family, who were (and still are) very protective of their traditions, Kasse Mady was allowed to go to join the band in Bamako. Soon after, the Maravillas began enjoying a huge success throughout West Africa with songs like Balomina Mwanga and Maimouna, all sung memorably by the young Kasse Mady in Cuban style but with a new Mande touch. In c. 1976 the band renamed themselves "National Badema du Mali" (meaning national family of Mali) and Kasse Mady launched this new formation with several deep Mande songs that were to become hits - such as Sindiya (later re-recorded by Ali Farka Toure as Singya on his first World Circuit album), Fode, which was also the title of Kasse's first solo album in 1988, and Guede, which he later re-recorded with Taj Mahal. By the mid 1980s there was no longer much interest among Malian audiences in the old dance bands of the 1970s. The Rail Band was playing to ever decreasing audiences, and the Ambassadeurs, formerly led by singer Salif Keita, had broken up altogether. The trend was for singers to try their luck in Paris, the new centre for "world music". So when Kasse Mady was invited to Paris to record his first solo album for Senegalese producer Ibrahima Sylla (of Africando fame) Kasse decided to try his luck. He left the National Badema, and moved to Paris where he spent the next ten years. During this period he recorded two solo albums - 'Fode', an electric dance album which was meant to be the answer to Salif Keita's Soro but lacked the same promotion; and 'Kela Tradition', an acoustic album of Kela jeli songs, both on the Paris label Syllart. Also in this period he collaborated in the album 'Songhai 2' with Ketama and Toumani Diabate, with some stunning versions of classics such as Mali Sajio as well as the beautiful ballad Pozo del Deseo sung together with Ketama singer Antonio Carmona. But things did not turn
out as planned in Paris. Kasse Mady's non-confrontational and peaceful character
did not help him to find his way through the labyrinth of royalty payments and
contracts and the hard-nosed music business of Paris. Exploited and disappointed,
he returned to Bamako in 1998 - where things began to look up. The kora player Toumani Diabate immediately snapped up Kasse Mady for more collaborations after the succesful work they had done together on 'Songhai 2'. Kasse Mady was invited to take part in the acclaimed 'Kulanjan' project with Taj Mahal. Taj was so moved by Kasse's singing that he presented him with a beautiful steel-body guitar. Kasse's latest project "Kassi Kasse" is an album for the Mexican label Discos Corasón. It was recorded with a mobile studio entirely on location in Kela, featuring his brother Lafia Diabate and members of the group Super Mande, as well as the brilliant ngoni player Bassekou Kouyate (who has also collaborated with Toumani on all his albums) and flute player Dramane Coulibaly, former leader of Las Maravillas de Mali. The cuban legend Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez plays the bass. The album, entirely acoustic and imbued with the atmosphere of Kela, includes jembe songs, jeli songs, hunters' songs, and two new versions of the Cuban-style classics Balomina Mwanga and Maimouna. His new CD, Kassi Kasse, was released in México
at the end of 2001 and internationally in 2002 when Kasse and his band are expected
to begín to tour extensively. | |||
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