NICOLE MITCHELL AND BALLAKÉ SISSOKO
Sweetly haunting flute and kora, beckoning the title song of this album, “Bamako Chicago”, transported me back to Sept 14, 2017, in the Strobe Recording Studio in Chi-town, where I had the honor of witnessing it all come to life. The atmosphere was electric, almost surreal—a mix of playfulness and loving focus, creating a sense of family (eight musicians, and the recording engineer, Caleb Willitz), overcoming odds to forge something groundbreaking. What more could one expect from a collaboration between two internationally esteemed composers: renowned flutist, former AACM chair, Nicole Mitchell, and innovative kora player, Bamako’s musical ambassador, Ballaké Sissoko? Both have defied conventions in their respective genres; Mitchell’s Afrofuturist sound and cosmic ethic and Sissoko’s integration of guitar progressions into kora compositions. Both push traditional forms into new spaces. Both bring a rich history of collaboration across various genres. – Jamika Ajalon
The magic began during a 2014 residency in the swanky suburbs of Paris, France, at the splendiferous Royaumont. Then, their host Frederic Duval suggested the rather awkward working title “Beyond Black.” Three years later, with modest funding, Bamako musicians arrived in Chicago, and the project adopted a more fitting name inspired by a conversation between Mitchell and celebrated cultural critic/musician, Greg Tate: Bamako*Chicago Sound System.
The musical collaboration echoes fusion artists like Foday Musa Suso and Herbie Hancock, yet it forges a unique path with a blend of depth and frequency more closely relatable to Alice Coltrane‘s lesser-known blues/’occidental’ music, such as “Galaxy in Turia” and “Er Ra”, along with the nuanced and celebrated Journey in Satchidananda. Like Coltrane, this album is transformative, taking listeners to other worlds through sonic transference. Ballaké’s post-traditional innovative writing leaves ample space for interpretation and breath, complementing Nicole’s layered, complex otherworldly compositions.
READ MORE
CURRENT RELEASE
