In the cool of the night in Dakar

A fresh breeze blows over the Dakar home of Senegalese artist Baaba Maal. On Tuesday evening the singer of U2 was the main guest .This was a special occasion for him to see the work of artists who have a long and rich artistic tradition.

"Music is everywhere in the air here and, if you are looking, it won’t take long to hear it. Once we landed I got in touch with Baaba Maal, who lives part-time in Dakar and is easily one of the most accomplished and beautiful singers in all of Africa. His 1982 classic acoustic record, with his collaborator, Mansour Seck, called “D’jam Leeli” (check it out on iTunes….I swear, it’s the “Kind of Blue” of African music). It was my real introduction to African music years ago. What a sound it is. Lo and behold, it turns out he’s in town and happy to hear from us. In fact he invites us all over to his home after dinner where he promises to “put a few musicians together up on the roof” after dinner. Typical African hospitality." (from ONE blog "From a rooftop in Dakar")

Bono said "I´m here to listen and learn from musicians who pass in all its authenticity the soul of African culture. I think we can draw a lesson from contact with each other..."

"He (Baaba Maal) was very happy to see Bono, in particular, as they had recently played a show together in London. Up we went to the roof. Pillows and rugs and candles were strewn all over the floor, the African sky was bright with stars, and we settled in to what became an amazing impromptu show. Players moved in and out. There was a huge kora, a 26 string instrument, a ngoni, a small 3 string guitar-contraption, and some African drums and guitars. It was a perfect introduction to Africa for my fellow travelers and a perfect antidote for jet lag. The yawning stopped, time was forgotten, the vibe was perfect. No one would have wanted to be anywhere else. The music gradually took off and built …..it was hard to tell when it actually started….first some tuning, then some casual vocals by a woman who was sitting, then another woman came out from the shadows. They were singing an old Fulani song about love and longing. Ten minutes later, from the other side of the roof, Baaba Maal, who had been sitting and talking to us, stood up and suddenly began to answer the women, in a call and response mode. Pretty startling., like an opera almost.. Baaba then gave a very poetic welcome to us all, to the good work of ONE, and reminded us of the responsibility of artists and activists to hold leaders to account and remind them of what justice is really about."(from ONE blog "From a rooftop in Dakar")


source: /www.one.org/blog//