I’ll never be able to see the genius of Ray Charles on display live. It's tragic, but there's nothing I can do. Nor have I seen Stevie Wonder, however I’m not a big enough fan to pony up a month’s worth of swim lesson money for tickets. But I was lucky enough to catch the brilliant Malian blues-rock duo Amadou & Mariam in concert a few months ago. They’re not a household name yet, but give ’em another year or two. Although I don’t know how much bigger up you can blow than playing for Obama in the 2009 Nobel Prize ceremony:
When I saw them perform live they didn't extinguish the lights, as is often the case for them, but knowing the husband and wife are each blind, thus approaching the performance with a different balance of senses than most musicians, made it a truly special experience.
Though the pair stands stoically side by side throughout shows, their arms touching, sharing each other’s musical energy through physical as well as aural contact, their shows are anything but calm. This video is a stripped-down session, but it’s easy to imagine "Wily Kataso" electrified and filled with additional percussion, including a drummer with a bongo mounted on his shoulder who constantly wanders the stage and jives with the other instrumentalists in turn. It’s a sweet and beautiful thing to watch them perform, seeing and hearing this unique love story play out onstage.
And people come to these shows to dance. This pair’s brand of African-influenced blues-rock sets an entrancing groove in the vein of repetitive-style Mississippi legend Junior Kimbrough. Once Amadou establishes a juicy hook, Mariam’s voice flutters to life and the layers of sound and energy just keep building. This music gets in your bones, and you can’t help but put your head down and sway. And eventually, jump around.
When you see the smiles on these musicians’ faces while they’re playing, you know they’re doing the same thing on the inside.
No comments:
Post a Comment