AfroPulse Concert Newsletter for April

===============================================================
Apr 14 2002       AfroPulse Concert News      Volume 2 Issue 3
===============================================================

Contents:
   Prince Diabaté at The Getty
   Angelique Kidjo at the Roxy
   April Events
   
----------------------------------------------------------------
Prince Diabaté at The Getty

Last month was kicked off with a performance as part of The
Getty world music series featuring Prince Diabaté of Guinea.
The Getty has a nice hall with a low stage and a nice rake of
seats to make for good viewing, however, it spreads back into
the distance very quickly.  You need to get to a show early to
get a good seat or you will end up in the balcony and require
binoculars!  We came late but were able to grab seats on the
side that were only half a dozen rows from the stage.

Things started out a bit slowly with traditional music, but
30 minutes into the show the pace picked up.  Jason Hann and
Aziz Faye offered duelling drums to go with Prince's kora
and some fine balafon playing by another Diabaté.  We were
impressed by the young maiden that stepped out in bare feet
to show a few dance steps from back home, but Aziz stole the
dance spotlight when he jumped up from his sabar and gave a
clinic on the high-flying antics of Senegalese-style
celebration.  There were a few numbers with a little wa-wa
guitar pedal added to the kora, but I think it worked best
when the voice of the kora was left to its own unique sound.

By the end of the show, half the audience was on stage dancing
and Prince was pelted with the spray of greenbacks loosed from
the fingers of the dancers.  Even the dance-impaired enjoyed
themselves, much to the pleasure of the audience!

----------------------------------------------------------------
Angelique Kidjo at the Roxy

Angelique was one of the first African musicians that I found
out about.  My younger brother told me about her when a friend
of his who was a reviewer for Rolling Stone in the early 1990's
recommended her new CD "Logozo".  The CD one was of my first
acquisitions and got quite a lot of play.  I had seen her
perform at the House of Blues a few years back and even earlier
at the Santa Monica Pier.  I also saw her open for Baaba Maal
at the Hollywood Bowl last fall, so seeing her at the Roxy was
a real chance for an intimate performance (and the possibility
of some pictures).

The Roxy only holds 400 or so people, as opposed to the huge,
ginormous Hollywood Bowl which required a telescope to see her
dancing form.  At first it appeared the room wouldn't even fill
up, but by the time the show started just after 9:00 the house
was full of adoring fans.  What a pleasure to be so close!  It
was much the same as Femi Kuti at Vynyl a couple years ago, but
her music lends itself to an intimacy with the audience in
addition to the energy and dancing of some of the rocking songs.

Half of the show went over to ballads and half to dancing, with
a costume change in the middle.  She spent a lot of time with
the audience, talking directly to us explaining the meaning of
all her songs.  She thanked everyone for leaving their TVs for
one night and spoke to her passions: freedom, spirit, and soul.
She also exhorted everyone to dance, extracting a promise on
one song -- "I want to see everyone jumping!" -- which we all
strove hard to fulfill.  Around 20 people were invited to come
on stage and dance to another number, which she managed to
sing and dance with every participant on stage and ended the
number by hugging each of them.

After all the sweating and exercise, half the audience lined
up to buy her new CD "Black Ivory Soul".  Always dedicated to
her fans, Angelique stayed for an hour signing autographs until
after midnight.  She had an amazing presence and energy in that
simple act that really makes her fans come back for more.

If you missed this show, you missed a rare chance to be up
close with a true star.  I always say that I like her early
music best, but each new CD grows on me the more I listen to
it and then ends up on my regular play list.  The sign of a
true artist is music that grows on you rather than the
immediate hit that wears out after too many repetitions.

Your next chance to catch her will be at the Cerritos Center
for the Performing Arts (http://www.cerritoscenter.com/).  The
show is not listed yet but I think it is August 22 or so.

----------------------------------------------------------------
April Events

At the end of March it looked like there weren't going to be
any shows in April.  I held back on the newsletter thinking
that something would come up, and then suddenly shows were only
announced the day before they happened.  I missed Mamadou
Diabate of Mali for that reason, and now Maria de Barros of
Cape Verde is in a free showcase tonight at the Mayan.

To fill in part of the calendar I put up the African film
series that is playing at the Hammer Museum on Wednesdays.
The shows are free to the public.  Next week is the story of
a Puegot and its adventures in Benin, the following week is a
show at UCLA's Melnitz Hall about a young Sengalese woman that
reflects the story of the country's own independence.

http://www.afropulse.com/music/concerts/apr2002inx.html

Coming in May you need to reserve tickets now for Perú Negro,
the Cultural Ambassadors of Black Peru for the last 33 years.
They are performing May 2 at UCLA's Royce Hall.  They were one
of the groups featured on the compilation CD "The Soul of Black
Peru".  This is their Los Angeles debut and will sell out.
Also watch for the play "Sorrows and Rejoicings" at the Mark
Taper Forum from May 11 until July.  It is written by the famed
South African playwright Athol Fugard.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Summer's just around the corner.  The Hollywood Bowl already has
their schedule out with Femi Kuti, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masakela,
Lucky Dube, The Mahotella Queens, and Zap Mama.  Stay tuned for
my pick of the year show, a rumored double-header of Malian
superstars!

jay