Bembeya Jazz: The Syliphone Years

There’s been CD compilations of Bembeya Jazz’s work available for years on Melodie/Syllart CDs from France, and fans who already have much of the music included on this new release would be forgiven for not wanting to spend their money on it, but they’d be missing out on an exceptional set. This superb 2-disc compilation comes in a package with a stylish modern design, many illustrations, including original single and LP releases - so guaranteed extra points on this website - and an outstanding set of notes by Graeme Counsel (whose excellent Radio Africa website can be reached via this site’s links page). The music, of course, is magnificent. This is the new music of independent Guinee, from the 1960s and 1970s, officially sanctioned and including such things as tributes to the armed forces ("Armee Guineenne") and the national airline ("Air Guinee"). But if the idea of official music suggests dullness and conformity, this is one band that’s here to tell a very different story. The rhythms are exhilarating and irresistible, the guitar-playing positively stellar, the horn sections invariably tight and powerful. There are great melodies and some astonishing voices. Almost inevitably, some tracks - like, not surprisingly, "Montuno de la Sierra" - show signs of Cuban influence, and some of these have an air that suggests a detour via the Congo. Most, though, show that they’ve taken these strains and incorporated them into something new and distinctively indigenous.

The greatest of the band’s singers was Aboucar Demba Camara, who sang with Bembeya for many years, prior to his early death in 1973. After that tragic setback, the band recorded two fine albums, "Defi" and "Continuite", available as an (almost) twofer CD on Syllart, and here represented by four tracks. These are terrific records, and well worth including, but the tracks with Camara have a quality all of their own. The opener, "Republique Guineee" has everything you could ask for from a Bembeya track, while the last track on disc one takes you to other dimensions altogether with its beautiful, haunting slide guitar accompaniment. And just listen to that knocked-out, muted trumpet that features in tracks like "Sou", or the guitar on the same track, taking a sound based on a traditional instrument and turning it into something unexpected and entrancing. These might be highlights, but to be honest, most tracks - from the stunning 14 minute live "Super Tentemba" to the beautiful, laidback "Ballake" - would have a claim to that status. Definitely one to treasure.

R.T. (12/04)


Bembeya Jazz: The Syliphone Years - Sterns Africa STCD 3021-22 There’s been CD compilations of Bembeya Jazz’s work available for years on Melodie/Syllart CDs from France, and fans who already have much of the music included on this new release would be forgiven for not wanting to spend their money on it, but they’d be missing out on an exceptional set. This superb 2-disc compilation comes in a package with a stylish modern design, many illustrations, including original single and LP releases - so guaranteed extra points on this website - and an outstanding set of notes by Graeme Counsel (whose excellent Radio Africa website can be reached via this site’s links page). The music, of course, is magnificent. This is the new music of independent Guinee, from the 1960s and 1970s, officially sanctioned and including such things as tributes to the armed forces ("Armee Guineenne") and the national airline ("Air Guinee"). But if the idea of official music suggests dullness and conformity, this is one band that’s here to tell a very different story. The rhythms are exhilarating and irresistible, the guitar-playing positively stellar, the horn sections invariably tight and powerful. There are great melodies and some astonishing voices. Almost inevitably, some tracks - like, not surprisingly, "Montuno de la Sierra" - show signs of Cuban influence, and some of these have an air that suggests a detour via the Congo. Most, though, show that they’ve taken these strains and incorporated them into something new and distinctively indigenous. The greatest of the band’s singers was Aboucar Demba Camara, who sang with Bembeya for many years, prior to his early death in 1973. After that tragic setback, the band recorded two fine albums, "Defi" and "Continuite", available as an (almost) twofer CD on Syllart, and here represented by four tracks. These are terrific records, and well worth including, but the tracks with Camara have a quality all of their own. The opener, "Republique Guineee" has everything you could ask for from a Bembeya track, while the last track on disc one takes you to other dimensions altogether with its beautiful, haunting slide guitar accompaniment. And just listen to that knocked-out, muted trumpet that features in tracks like "Sou", or the guitar on the same track, taking a sound based on a traditional instrument and turning it into something unexpected and entrancing. These might be highlights, but to be honest, most tracks - from the stunning 14 minute live "Super Tentemba" to the beautiful, laidback "Ballake" - would have a claim to that status. Definitely one to treasure. R.T. (12/04)

	Bembeya Jazz: The Syliphone Years A double CD of rare recordings and greatest hits from the 60s and 70s Sterns Africa STCD 3021-22


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