BEMBEYA JAZZ NATIONAL
THE SYLIPHONE YEARS (Stern's STCD3021-2)

Bembeya Jazz is one of the top-rank African bands. From their founding in 1961 until today they have put out consistently great albums. In the 1960s and 70s they recorded for the Syliphone label in Conakry which has come to be recognized as one of the great treasure troves of popular African music. Now STERN'S has done the right thing and put together a thoroughly documented and pretty much definitive double-disc of the band's greatest recordings. It must have been hard narrowing the choice down to 26 tracks but, even if you think you have them all, this album is a revelation.

Now this music is finally getting the respect and attention it deserves. For a long time companies like Sonodisc tossed about the legacy of Africa (in their case the Congo) like it was brussels sprouts, but gradually new companies have come along, like Stern's, Popular African Music, Soundways, Crammed Disc, Sharp Wood, and Dakar Sound to name a few who are giving the music its due with intelligent liner notes, smart programming and handsome packaging. Bembeya is head of a long list of bands worthy of this treatment. True, when you have the magical sounds of Sekou Diabate on guitar you only need your imagination, but the presentation is an added thrill with artwork from obscure singles and EPs and band photos (damnably tiny) in a 28-page booklet. Now you know how great the music is and will have to get this CD anyway. I am always first to say why buy it on CD when you have it on vinyl and in some cases on CD also?! Seven of the tracks appeared on "Hommage a Demba Camara," a fantastic compilation (on my TOP 50 of all time) saluting the band's singer who died in a car accident at the height of their fame in 1973. The cream of that album is skimmed here.

Disc 1 has 14 tracks of which 10 have appeared on CD, four of them duplicated on 2 CD issues. However many of the Guinean Discotheque anthologies had a single Bembeya track strewn like stardust across a chill desert sky, and only a diehard would have made their own compilation to assemble the loose bits from their many singles and albums. The tracks stand out in the context of those albums, reminding us of the importance of the band, but their momentum is wasted. You really need to listen to an uninterrupted two and a half hours of Bembeya which is why you have to buy this compilation! Now you get an uninterrupted flow of musical magic that builds on each track and is pretty soon flying in the empyrean as Sekou weaves his web. Track 2 "Sabor de guajira" (which was the B side of their first single) shows them already masters of the Cuban charanga form as Sekou whips out a spectacular glittering lead. He pulls in behind the vocalist but sustains a bell-like pealing that echoes the clave, while the horns bleat like lost sheep. None of the renowned Senegalese bands ever approached a Cuban cover with as much success. This was due not so much to Bembeya's musical skill as to their understanding of tradition. Bembeya were pioneers in bridging the gap from the kora and balafon music of their parents to the burgeoning pop sensibilities of switched-on electric youth. There was no learning curve with this band: they came out running and already had a fully developed big sound anatomized into punchy horns and giddily spiraling guitar leads. Add the great percussion, vocals and chorus and you have an unbeatable formula. One of the new-to-CD tracks, a shameless plug for "Air Guinee" from their first LP, is quite funny with the band yelling out "Securite! comfort! vitesse!" before locking into a rocking E-minor A-minor jam. The next track also starts with a spoken part (perhaps they were listening to the funny intros to Congolese singles of the time.) "Super tentemba" (at 14 minutes the longest cut on here) was two sides of a single and shows them masters of the shifting terrain of a mental trip, like their neighbours the Rail Band, as they journey across the landscape in style. It also sounds like a live recording, their spontaneity adding to the excitement as solo spots move around the band.

CD 2 has 12 tracks of which 11 have appeared on CD (three of them twice); only the first cut, "Beyla," is previously not collected on CD. It's from the rare LP "Guinee An X" (a reference to the tenth year of independence). The sound is a bit rough, leading me to wonder what shape Ibrahim Sylla's archives are in. Remarkably many of Bembeya's best tunes were B sides to 45s (though wisely collected on albums and CDs later). The first disc includes 5 B sides, four of them better than their A sides! Graeme Counsel, who compiled this disc and wrote the excellent liner notes explaining each song, points out the traditional dance rhythm underlying one of their masterpieces "Moussogbe," from AUTHENTICITE 73 PARADE AFRICAINE (SLP39 on vinyl; 38221-2 on CD). The staggered rhythm sets the stage for Camara's vocals then Sekou comes skirling in with a distant Islamic plaint that seems to hover ghost-like over the whole tune. This is another one you wish would go beyond its 7 minutes. He keeps the sequence together so we get two more gems from the same album. "Sou," with its muted trumpet and smoky sax, is a morna Counsel advises us (the style recently popularized by Cesaria Evora). Here Sekou pushes the notion of "dry guitar" to a new height with a brittle plucking style (I think he must have draped his sleeve over the strings).

"Dya dya" is on my "secret Peanut Vendor" playlist: after collecting about 40 versions of "El Manicero" I started hearing it everywhere. There comes a point in every 1-4-5-4 jam where someone will quote either the cry of the peanut vendor ("Ma-neee!") or the actual riff ("Si tu quieres por el pi-co di'-ver-tir") that is the song's signature. Since "Mani" is just two notes I don't include those in the playlist, though I am tempted, but you'll be surprised how many songs use the turn-around (probably unconsciously) when jamming on those chords (G6, C and D7). The album ends with another favourite, "Petit Sekou," which makes me want to urge this album on you!

Though I know these songs well I have been playing this CD non-stop for a month (ignoring all the newer releases). It really gets under your skin! Other than showing photos of the group that are 3/4 by 1 and a 1/4 inches (remember it was a large ensemble!), the booklet is useful and augments the joy of this retrospective: two discs that chronicle one of the supreme teams of African pop in the 60s and 70s. -- Doctor Rhythm