Gig: African Canadians for Haiti

African Canadians for Haiti (feat. African Guitar Summit, Adam Solomon & Tikisa, Jacques Yams, Fojeba, Afrafranto, William Nkemagni, Masaisai)

Lula Lounge. Thursday, February 25, 2010.

Headed down to the Lula Lounge on a bitterly cold Thursday night with a double purpose in mind. Not only was this a chance to catch some of the best musicians in the city assembled together on one stage, but it was also a benefit, raising earthquake relief funds for Haiti. When disaster strikes, one pitches in with whatever tools are at hand, and in that spirit many of the bands that were playing, called to the show on relatively short notice, were playing with unusual line-ups, leading to some interesting spontaneous collaborations throughout the night. Meanwhile, it was an unusual sort of show for me to attend, with the Lula set up for a sit-and-have-dinner sort of show — generally a signifier of an older, more well-heeled crowd. It was reasonably busy when I arrived, but I managed to get seated at a table right up front.

Things led off with a set from Masaisai, playing in a stripped-down four-piece configuration with no mbira. This put the focus on Tich Maredza as a singer and songwriter, and he did a nice job explaining what each of the songs (sung in the Shona language, I believe) were about. With less of a rhythmic undercurrent, the music was well-suited to sitting back and listening. One (called "They shall grow up one day" in English) had a nice gentle groove and the band stretched it out, allowing guitarist Larry Lewis to lay down some tasty sounds on top of the solid rhythm section of Andrew Mark (drums) and Tichaona Gombiro (bass). Things picked up with the more upbeat "Chikende". And showing that the band can produce a dance-worthy groove without the rhythms of the mbiras and marimba, the set ended with an extended run through "Sweet Pumpkin", where Maredza set down his guitar and showed off some dance moves. Although this had a different feel than Masaisai's usual sets, it was still a fully entertaining time.

Between the musical sets, an interlude from poet William Nkemagni who spoke to the room with a strong presence. With heartfelt words, he carried a notebook but spoke without looking at it. Vibrant and interactive, Nkemagni demanded a response back from the crowd — including directing a question to a patron seated up front. Engaging and a nice fit with the evening's program.

And then, with no break, it was straight into Afrafranto's set. Also playing in a more slimmed-down configuration on this night, the band was playing as a four-piece, with no keyboards and "Golden Voice" Theo Yaa Boakye seated and adding percussion throughout. Showing his dedication, Boakye arrived at the show just a couple hours after catching a plane back to Toronto from Ghana. As with Masaisai before them, this started with the band's more relaxed side, but the set was carefully constructed so that it built up in tempo and intensity as it went along, all of it in one non-stop whir, as usual segueing from one song to the next without respite. And, of course, with the supple guitar stylings of Pa Joe throughout, making the set such a treat to listen to. Underlying it was Kofi Ackah on drums and Ebenezer Agyekum on bass — two musicians who not only play with unrelenting, groovy skill, but are also both great entertainers on the stage, always playing with smiling energy. One of the local favourites of this blog, the thirty minutes from Afrafranto was delightful throughout.

Next up was Fojeba, the night's only group that I was fully unfamiliar with coming in. It turned out to be an excellent introduction. The band played punchy, upbeat music in the makossa and zouk styles¹, keyed by Fojeba — the namesake and leader of the band — playing insistent rhythm guitar. Supported by horn players and a pair of backing vocalists, this was some excellent party music. There was no bass player at the outset, but in what appeared to be a totally spontaneous move Ebenezer Agyekum took the stage midway through the first song and joined in, remaining with the band for the rest of the set and playing fairly seamlessly with the rest of the band.

Introduced by Michael Stohr as a topical songwriter, Fojeba indeed presented the audience with a new song, "Tremblement de terre en Haiti", a quiet break in the midst of the more festive music, providing the audience with a reminder of the night's purpose. Most of the rest of the set, however, was punchy, spirited stuff. Definitely on my list to see again.

Listen to a track from this set here.

And then another short set before the stage switchover, this time from singer/guitarist Jacques Yams. Playing a similar, quick set to when I had seen him a few weeks previously, Yams' gentle voice and guitar style provided a welcome interlude between the bands. Playing to the night's theme, he also sang an appeal for everyone to get involved with helping Haiti. He stayed for just a couple quick songs before giving the stage over.

It was now about 11:30, and the early, out-for-dinner crowd had largely melted away, leaving a smaller core of musical enthusiasts. But that also meant that there was plenty of elbow room to stand and perhaps dance around some, which a few people took advantage of as Adam Solomon & Tikisa led off the final segment of the evening. Solomon, known as "The Professor", plays guitar with a natural ease, notes pouring off like water rippling over stones in a creek. I was especially looking forward to this set, never having seen Solomon playing with his own band.² It was, I was told after, another improvised lineup, with Colin Campbell, usually on rhythm guitar, filling in on bass. But it sounded fabulous regardless, the music groovy and unforced, creating a rhythm that would make it hard to stay sitting down — especially when Pa Joe joined in on the second number. As it turned out, the band played only a short set, just two longer songs stretching out to about twenty minutes, very much creating a "leave 'em wanting more" sort of taste in my mouth.

Listen to a track from this set here.

On the other hand, that meant we'd be moving along to the night's highlight all the quicker. In this configuration of African Guitar Summit Pa Joe and Adam Solomon were joined by Madagascar Slim to form an impressive front line. The latter would lead off the set with his "Salama", which was followed by Pa Joe's "Obaa Y Ewa". It goes without saying that there were guitar fireworks aplenty, in the main provided by Pa Joe and Madagascar Slim playing off each other. Although Adam Solomon would add a third level of interplay for one song, he spent more time on percussion and vocals, including leading on his "Pesa Ni u Funguo". Playing for an action-packed half-hour, there were some simply sublime moments.

Although it was a work night, yes, and bloody cold out, it's mildly surprising that a show of this calibre wasn't playing to a packed house, but the chance to see something like this in such an intimate and relaxed environment made it all the more of a special occasion for me.

Listen to a track from this set here.

Just a reminder: although we move so quickly through the "news cycle" on to the next thing and the next thing, it is important for us to remember that the unimaginable misery caused by the earthquake in Haiti is real and ongoing. A donation sent off here and a benefit concert attended there are all well and good, but there's a profound need for us to remain mindful that the task of rebuilding is just starting, and the "disaster fatigue" and short attention spans of the world's privileged cannot be an excuse for us to fail in our obligation to continue to support Haiti and its people.

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¹ The latter style, originating in the French West Indies, and being played by a musician originally from Cameroon served to illustrate the strong cross-cultural bond that provided the impetus for this show.

² Solomon, along with Tikisa percussionist Nancy Barrett also deserve praise for putting this show together.

Gig: "Celebrating Africa’s First World Cup"

"Celebrating Africa’s First World Cup" (feat. Afrafranto, Njacko Backo and the Toumkak Drummers, Jacques Yams, CanAfric Theatre)

Gladstone Hotel Ballroom. Friday, February 5, 2010.

At the close of the Masaisai show, walked out the door and over to the ballroom to take in the second Music Africa event of the night, a special soccer-themed event celebrating South Africa's World Cup and the participating African teams. I'm not much for the footie, but I was easily pulled in by the musical talent on hand. Inside the ballroom sort of a relaxed rec-room vibe, with a smallish crowd in the early going as people slowly filtered in. There ended up being a respectable crowd, but there was certainly room for more.

Starting the evening off was the CanAfric Theatre led by the voice and powerful presence of Justine Gogoua (often seen of the Afrofest stage as one of the event's hosts). Starting with the drum — the root of it all, after all — Gogoua's accompanying trio did three pieces with percussion and voice as the framework for some enthusiastic dancing. With lots of room on the dancefloor, the performers jumped down from the stage to show off their moves, their energy a nice spark to the night.

And then a short set from Jacques Yams, decked out in the green jersey of his native Cameroon's Indomitable Lions and playing acoustic guitar and backed only by a single percussionist. I wasn't familiar with him, but was quickly impressed by his lightly skipping guitar work and plaintive french-language vocals. Playing just a very short three-song set, it was enough for me to file the name away for future reference. Hunting around a bit, it looks like he works with a couple bands, so keep your eyes open for a chance to see him.

And then genially earnest Music Africa president Michael Stohr (wearing a layered succession of African World Cup jerseys that he proceeded to pull off in turn throughout the evening) drew names from a hat for some soccer-themed giveaways as things were gearing up on the stage behind him for Njacko Backo and the Toumkak Drummers. Backo, who also performs solo and with his other group Kalimba Kalimba, is equally well-known and well-regarded as an entertainer and a teacher, and is a master thumb piano player and percussionist. Here he was backed by his five piece Toumkak Drummers, a mostly-percussion ensemble, with members rotating through a variety of drums and percussion instruments, plus kalimba, flute and ngoni.

Playing to the night's theme, Backo advocated a pan-African solution to winning the World Cup ("Cameroon doesn't have to win — Africa has to win. We're going to get all the juju men together..."), invoking everyone to stand up and devising an impromptu clap-along chant for all of the African World Cup teams — and then stopping the beat when not enough people were shaking along to inveigh against the non-participators, only to resume the beat in double time. Never afraid to ham it up when required, to make faces and shout at the crowd, Backo donned the hand-made makarapa that was on display to whip up the crowd. Even after that he was still not satisfied with the amount of dancing, and said to his band, "let's make it funky — James Brown!" Which I thought, as the percussion kicked back in, was a sort of a figure of speech. But soon, ngoni player Chip Yarwood was kicking out some "Sex Machine"-like riffs to a woodblock-tapping rhythm and it was James Brown. A fabulous, high-energy end to a set that was a lot of fun to watch and move to.

Listen to an excerpt from this set here.

Next up was the biggest reason that I was out for this show — to have another chance to check out Afrafranto. When I saw them last summer, they were playing an opening set for Vieux Farka Touré, and despite being totally off my radar, proceeded to totally impress me. Though they seem to keep a fairly low profile, internet wise, I've been keeping an eye out for them since. Sadly, it seems that their rep isn't as sizable as their talents, as by the time they took the stage, the already-smallish crowd had withered away some more. Those who remained, however, were in for a treat, and pretty much everyone was dancing from the get go to their palmwine rhythms. Palmwine — the forerunner of the more widely known highlife genre — has a hint of calypso rhythm added to its West African shuffle, adding that extra zing of jump up to the music's insistent groove.

The band played for nearly forty-five minutes, stopping for breath only once in the middle — otherwise the band, led by vocalist Theo Yaa Boakye, segued continuously from one song to the next. A few minutes in, I was thinking to myself, "this isn't just a good band — this is a fabulously good band." It's mildly disorienting to think that this top-shelf band doesn't have a webpage or even a myspace, but they're not complete unknowns. As shocking as it seems in the musical headspace I usually inhabit, not everything unfolds on the net. Plus, these musicians are well known for their other pursuits — Boakye as well as guitar hero Pa Joe are associated with the African Guitar Summit. And speaking of that, there might have been others out in the crowd who were there to watch Pa Joe play guitar, but I think I was the only one gawping, slack-jawed, at the delicious sounds generated by his astoundingly gentle touch, the notes lifting off like the butterfly that the band is named for. Put simply: this is one the best bands in Toronto that you know nothing about, and now that you do, you don't have an excuse.

Listen to a song from this set here.

And speaking of African music and the World Cup, I note that this year's Afrofest will be taking place at Queen's Park on July 10th and 11th, the latter of which is the same day as the final game of this year's World Cup. Whether you're looking for a place to celebrate the outcome or just someplace to go and dance and ignore the final, write the dates down in your calendar now and plan to attend — Afrofest is one of this city's best summer events and not to be missed.