TV Channel Qwest: Jazz and Beyond

Guest Curator - Baaba Maal | Qwest TV







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A much-loved Senegalese singer, guitarist and percussionist, Baaba Maal’s music has always been a reflection of his heritage. He sings in Pulaar, the language traditionally spoken by the Fula and Toucouleur peoples on either side of the ancient Senegal River and promotes the Hal-Pulaar culture every year at the Blues du Fleuve festival, which he founded in 2006.

As a child, Maal was expected to become a fisherman like his father, but instead became inspired by his family’s friend and gawlo (West African storyteller, poet and musician), the blind artist Mansour Seck. Baaba decided to go to Dakar for music study before gaining a full scholarship to continue his learning in Paris. Upon returning to Senegal, he sought Seck’s tutelage in traditional music and began his career as a musician.

Known for his powerful vocal tone, Baaba Maal’s voice has always acted as a point of union between diverse musical styles from around the world. The late 80s and early 90s saw him play with genres as varied as raga, salsa, Breton harp music, electronic music, Gaelic traditional sound and, of course, his West African repertoire. This early statement set up a desire for fusion and exchange that has persisted throughout his career.

Since then his work has included a tribute to George Gershwin, which raised money for HIV, a tribute to Fela Kuti alongside Tony Allen, Ray Lema, Archie Shepp and more, high-profile video game soundtracks, an indie crossover with popular British artist Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly, a Beach Boys reprise and highly publicised collaborations with the giants of contemporary folk, Mumford and Sons.

Few artists in the world can boast such a staggering, diverse career, something encapsulated in Baaba’s most recent album, The Traveller, a blend of African roots with electronic influences, all beautifully stitched together by shifting tempos and Baba’s distinctive, soaring vocals. On this album, as with the rest of his music, Baaba is a gawlo for a globalised world, using language and storytelling to build bridges between cultures.

This outlook is central to the mission of Qwest TV, a place where the world’s great music is made accessible for all. Baaba’s personal playlist of Qwest TV concerts mirrors his exploratory spirit: documentaries on the blues and Blue Note sit side by side with music from Brazil and Cuba. In terms of concerts, Baaba has one foot in bebop, with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk featuring alongside the kings and queens of funk and soul – James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin – and African music courtesy of the great Hugh Masekela and Maal’s friend and collaborator, Bassekou Koyate.

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