Thursday, February 11, 1999
Performer brings hybrid style, flair to U.S. audiences with
Royce visit
CONCERT: Blending rap with rhumba, Keita finds artistic niche,
expression
By Howard Ho
Daily Bruin Contributor
Rap and rumba hardly have anything in common today, and
sometimes it takes an African performer to remind us that they both
came from the same storytelling heritage. World music has found
such a performer in Malian singer and composer Salif Keita, who
will solidify connections between musical forms in a Royce Hall
performance tonight.
Keita’s music is truly world music, taking elements of his
native, Mali musical heritage as well as rumba, jazz and James
Brown. Beyond infusing a sound that crosses borders, Keita hopes
his music will heal the wounds of discrimination he felt from being
an ostracized albino as a youth.
Keita was born in the North African country of Mali, the direct
descendent of the 13th century emperor who established the Mandinka
Empire.
Despite coming from a privileged, land-holding family, Keita
felt the sting of discrimination, as he was extremely
light-skinned, and therefore termed an albino. In addition to skin
and eye problems, Keita had to live in an albino community, away
from his family as a child.
What gave Keita hope was music.
"I heard a lot of music when I was young, and then I started
playing music," Keita said in French, while his manager translated.
"This inspiration gave me the opportunity to mix music and mix
culture."
Keita joined the Rail Band of Bamako before founding his own
group, The Ambassadors.
"I was ambitious, and I had a lot of pleasure in composing
music," Keita said. "Though most musicians also enjoy singing their
own music, I had something to say, something to cry out. I wanted
to express the life around me, how I had to fight for a place in
society because of my condition. I wanted to express how it is to
be poor like all the people I knew growing up."
The Ambassadors became a hit, and in 1977, Keita was awarded the
National Order of Guinea.
He then moved to Guinea and continued to work on his musical
style, combining jazz and rumba, but without losing his roots.
Drawing on his native musical tradition, Keita infused rumba with
the griot, a form of African music sung about family history and
reflecting on issues in the community, much like rap music
today.
"African music," said second-year ethnomusicology student Marko
Glogolja, "is a very social activity. Most of the people grew up
playing instruments. It’s just part of the culture."
Keita was influenced by a variety of music and musicians. As a
youth, he enjoyed the sounds of Latin American music, especially
that of the Aragon Orchestra and Irakere, a Cuban jazz band founded
by Chucho Valdes. He also took in the influence of American jazz,
blues and pop icons like Jackson Browne, a friend who personally
gave Keita a guitar, and James Brown.
Like Brown, Keita has a very kinetic sense of performance. Often
he challenges the audience to stand up and dance to the music.
"My concern is that I have to bring joy to the people. American
people are a people that are working a lot," Keita said. "And they
are always sitting to work. So I have to give them joy, make them
dance and make them forget their mountain of tiredness."
As a crossover hit, Keita finds fans in Europe and Africa, not
to mention the United States. His tours have taken him across the
continent, visiting Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles, often only
performing one show in each area before moving on.
"When I come here for shows or recording, I notice that American
people do love my music and that many of my shows are sold-out or
very full," Keita said. "It helps me to think that the crossover
I’m making between my musical roots and American jazz is good for
the American public."
Indeed, that proved evident when Keita was nominated for a
Grammy for his 1990 album, "Amen."
"I felt it was an encouragement to continue working with other
cultures," Keita said. "It makes me feel like I’m on the right
track."
Often called "the golden voice of Mali," Keita’s musical
exploits have given him hope that the discrimination he felt as a
child can be eliminated. Even though treatment of albinos has
improved, in today’s Mali they still have a tough time finding a
job and being a part of society as a whole.
"The cause of discrimination is a lack of communication," Keita
said. "People have to talk together and know each other better.
Music is a link."
WORLD MUSIC: Salif Keita performs today at 8 p.m. in Royce Hall.
Tickets are $35, $29, $22 and $13 (for UCLA students). For more
information, call (310) 825-2101.UCLA Center for Performing
Arts
Known as "the golden voice of Mali," Salif Keita performs at
UCLA’s Royce Hall tonight.
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