1000 Songs: John Leeson

1000 Songs: John Leeson

I have now posted one thousand songs from my live recordings to this blog. My introductory thoughts on that landmark can be found here, but long story short: I asked some folks to pick some of their favourites to help me celebrate.

Today's list is from John Leeson, who documents shows at T.O. Music Pix, which also includes his well-curated concert listings, keeping track of a lot of shows that you don't see elsewhere — essential stuff. (Twitter: @TOMusicPix)

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My main musical love is African music. I see Joe at most of the good African music shows, and pretty much all the great ones, so I've picked out a few African tunes from his recordings. Music from 5 countries - 3 of them, local bands.

Mali: Bassekou Koyate & Ngoni Ba - Saro

The West African ngoni is one of my favourite instruments, but one that's rarely seen here, even in African touring bands. But Bassekou — one of the great ngoni masters — leads a whole ngoni band! So it's no surprise, this is also one of my favourite acts. His wife, Ami Sacko, is also a terrific singer.

Niger: Bombino - Imuhar

The Touaregs (Saharan nomads) are now winning Grammys, and getting press coverage in The Star (for the growing rebellion in Mali). New guitar bands have been popping up in the wake of Tinariwen for a few years now, but this guitarist from Niger has his own sound — and a lot of energy. His Lula gig last year was one of the highlights of the year for me. He's back again April 12.

Ethiopia: The Ethiopia Perspective Collective [a.k.a. Abyssinian Roots] - Musicawi Silt

I'm a huge fan of classic Ethiopian sounds. I was torn between Joe's recording from this show, or songs from the great singer Mahmoud Ahmed, or the concert featuring sax legend Getachew Mekuria and The Ex. I picked this one because the concert encompassed a huge range of Ethiopian music, featuring a raft of great local Ethiopian music. Most of the show is available on CBC Concerts on Demand... but it may be remounted in June. Watch for it.

Zimbabwe: Masaisai - Masaisai

A local, mostly Zimbabwean group, built around the mbira, that sadly isn't around anymore; I thought that they could have become a nice club draw. They put on an enthusiastic, high-energy show ("bright", Joe called their music). But most of their members are still in town, playing in two different groups: Tich Maredza Band & Nhapitapi Mbira. I also picked them for the playlist because I saw both those bands at the same show a few days ago, and because I'll be in Zimbabwe this summer.

Ghana: Afrafranto - Juliana

A small band made up of the top Ghanaian musicians in Toronto (most are also part of the African Guitar Summit), they play some sweet Palm Wine sounds, led by Pa Joe's great and tasteful guitar licks. For this show, a benefit for a Ghana-based musicologist, they added a number of guests to fill out the sound. But, as Joe has written, they're always "sharp as a tack and relentlessly groovy."

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You can always click on the tags below to read more about the shows these songs came from. Have there been four or five songs posted here that made an impact on you? If you'd like to get in on the action and make a list, feel free to send me an email: mechanicalforestsound@gmail.com.