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Baaba Maal
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Discography · Booking Agency · Bibliography · Similar Music
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| Biography: | |
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Photo by Tyrone le Bon Baaba Maal - Music was an integral part of Baaba's childhood. Baaba Maal was born in Podor, a town with a population of 6,000, on the banks of the river Senegal that separates the country of the same name from Mauritania. Baaba's family is Hal Pulaar, known in the English speaking world as Fulani. He is not from a jeli family (the hereditary caste of musicians and oral historians). His father worked in the fields but was also given the honor and responsibility of using songs to call the worshippers to the mosque. Baaba's mother was a musician who sang and wrote her own songs educating her son in the musical forms of the area and encouraging the young Baaba to value intelligent and thoughtful lyrics.At the same time Baaba was listening to black music coming out of America, people like James Brown, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Etta James. Later he caught up with Jamaican musicians such as Toots Hibbert, Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff who Baaba later met on a tour of Senegal in the mid-70's along with band guitarist of the time, Ernest Ranglin. Baaba went to school in St. Louis, the original French colonial capital and, on winning an Art scholarship, on to Senegal's modern capital, Dakar. There he joined Asly Fouta a group of 70 musicians and spent his time with the group learning as much as he could about the local musical instruments and how they work. On leaving college he toured West Africa with longtime friend, guitarist and jeli, Mansour Seck, soaking up more knowledge, "it's traditional for young musicians to do that. When you arrive in every village you do a gig. This makes you friendly with all the young people who are in the village. The next day the young people take you to visit the oldest person who knows about the history of the village and the country and about the history of the music". From there Baaba lived in Paris for several years, studying at the Fine Arts Conservatory, with ears still wide open. On arriving back in Senegal, Baaba formed his band Daande Lenol (Voice of the People).
With a dozen solo and collaborative albums behind him, Baaba
Maal is a man with
a mission beyond his music. In his role as Youth Emissary for the United
Nations' Development Program, Baaba
Maal is committed to the concerns of
families, young people and the future of his continent. When he tours the world,
his role as a representative of the United Nations' Development Programme is
never far away. Both elements come together when Baaba features in musical
projects such as the Fela Kuti Tribute
Red Hot and Riot , put together by
HIV/Aids awareness campaign group The Red Hot Organisation. In 2008 Baaba Maal created the soundtrack for the Playstation and X-Box game, “Far Cry 2.” In 2009, Baaba Maal released “Television,” which was produced jointly by Baaba Maal and Barry Reynolds, once the guitarist with the legendary Compass Point Studio Band, and mixed by Jerry Boys. “Television” was recorded intermittently over three years, during which time Baaba Maal kept up his rigorous global touring commitments, including his work on the large-scale Africa Express project, in collaboration with Damon Albarn. Also in 2009, Baaba Maal headlined The African Soul Rebels tour of the United Kingdom; and appeared as the guest on an edition of the esteemed Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4. As he has made clear, Baaba Maal’s mission in West Africa extends beyond his music. He is committed to the concerns of families, young people and the future of the continent, as is reflected in his role as Youth Emissary for the United Nations’ Development Programme, about which he says: “It strengthens my determination to work harder to contribute more to improving the living conditions of disadvantaged people of the African continent, especially young people, whose future is seriously threatened by illiteracy, poverty and HIV/AIDS. When I am talking about Africa, it is about how Africa will grow into the new millennium. This is why I really wanted to make music, so people can listen more to the music and the messages I am talking about.” Official Web Site: www.baabamaal.tv |
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| Discography: | |
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Wango (Syllart / Stern's, 1985) Taara (Syllart / Melodie, 1987) Djam Leelii (Mango, 1989) Baayo (Mango, 1991) Lam Toro (Mango, 1993) Firin' in Fouta (Mango, 1994) Tono (Studio 2000 Dakar, 1994) Sunugal (Studio 2000 Dakar, 1995) Djam Leelii Re-Release (Yoff Productions, 1998) Nomad Soul (Palm Pictures, 1998) Live at the Royal Festival Hall (Palm Pictures, 1999) Jombaajo (Sonodisc, 2000) Missing You….Mi Yeewnii (Palm Pictures, 2001) The Best of the Early Years (Wrasse, 2003) Palm World Voices: Baaba Maal (Palm Pictures, 2005) On the Road (Palm, 2008) Television (Palm, 2009) |
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| Booking: | |
| International Music Network(IMN)Address: 2 Main St., 4th Flr., Gloucester, MA 01930, USA. Phone: +1 (978) 283-2883, Fax: +1 (978) 283-2330. | |
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| Bibliography: | |
| Video: Baaba Maal - Live at Royal Festival Hall (Palm Pictures, 1999) | |
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| Similar Music: | |
| African, Senegalese, Mbalax, Vocals | |
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