Bamako*Chicago Soundsystem
Nicole Mitchell
FPE Records
By Jeff Cebulski | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nicole Mitchell, flute
Ballaké Sissoko, kora
Fatim Kouyate, voice
Mankwe Ndosi, voice
Fassery Diabaté, balafon
Jeff Parker, guitar
Joshua Abrams, bass
JoVia Armstrong, percussion
Seven years after its recording, Chicago’s treasured flutist and music activist Nicole Mitchell and FPE Records have released Bamako*Chicago Sound System, a collaboration of Mitchell and the esteemed Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko, celebrating the intercultural music vibe that the city inculturates, in this case between the Chicago and West Africa.
The idea for the album began in 2014, during a residency in Paris at the Royumont. A suggested title, “Beyond Black,” was eventually dropped, but the seed had been planted. A fundraiser brought the Africans to Chicago, and Bamaka*Chicago Sound System was born.
This cultural mashup reflects more Africa than Chi-town, though members of Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble, including guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Joshua Abrams, percussionist JoVia Armstrong, and vocalist Mankwe Ndosi, contribute. Sissoko’s side of the equation includes Fassery Diabaté on balafon (a kind of vibraphone) and vocalist Fatim Kouyate. The songs feature the lilt and spirit of African expression, making sure that the lyrics (sung both in English
and Bamabara, with a lyric sheet that includes French) represent nods to Chicago.
The opener and style-setter “Bamako Chicago” establishes the Afrocentric theme, as Kouyate sings “Mbita Bamako, yan kadi “ (meaning: I am going to Bamako, this is a good place). Later, Ndosi adds:
When you leave Chicago for Bamako
Do your best to arrive in N’tomikorobugu
The son of Djelimady, Ballake is living there
Ballake and his strings of Kora are living there in N’Tomikorobugu
They will every day meet all your foreign integration needs
This paean to Bamako’s good and welcoming nature is supported by Sissoka’s quietly strung kora, Mitchell’s lovely improvised flute, Diabate’s plunked balafon, and Armstrong’s percussion.
The jazz portion is typified by Mitchell’s “Spicy Jambalaya,” an exotic blues where the flautist and Sissoko are bolstered by Abrams and Parker, with Diabatéand Armstrong along for the ride.
Later, Mitchell’s more complex, layered “This Moment” creates a woven tapestry of griot and ensemble, giving the musicians a chance to stretch out, especially Diabate, whose solo cries with hope.
Throughout, Kouyate (in Bamabara) and Ndosi (in English) harmonize in varying call-and-response stanzas as well as background choral chants. This musical stew of vocals and instruments, highlighted by the leaders’ presence, is uplifting and gratifying.
Whatever Nicole Mitchell performs or records, the audience will be taken into her wondrous atmosphere of world music and cultural mashing. This album surely adds to her legacy and begs for more.
FPE Records, 2024
Nicole Mitchell, flute
Ballaké Sissoko, kora
Fatim Kouyate, voice
Mankwe Ndosi, voice
Fassery Diabaté, balafon
Jeff Parker, guitar
Joshua Abrams, bass
JoVia Armstrong, percussion
About Jeff Cebulski
Jeff Cebulski, who lives in Chicago, is a retired English educator (both secondary and collegiate) and longtime jazz aficionado. His career in jazz includes radio programs at two stations in southeast Wisconsin, an online show on Kennesaw State’s (GA) Owl Radio from 2007 until 2015, and review/feature writing for Chicago Jazz Magazine since 2016, including his column "Jazz With Mr. C". He has interviewed many jazz artists, including Joshua Redman, Charles Lloyd, Dave Holland, John Beasley, and Chris Brubeck, as well as several Chicago-based players. Jeff is a member of the Jazz Journalists Association. Contact Jeff at jeff@chicagojazz.com
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