GAMBIAN KORA VIRTUOSO WORKS TO AFFECT CHANGE
Singer, musician and composer doubles as a sort of unofficial ambassador
Whether it’s trance, dance or songs with a message, this year’s Edmonton Folk Music Festival promises enriching sounds from African, Latin and Arabic cultures.
The West African nation of Mali is front and centre with Songhai music star Sidi Toure, the Toureg tribesmen of Tinariwen ( back this time with their original bandleader), and Trio Da Kali, drawing from an ancient acoustic tradition, fresh from their recording project with Kronos Quartet.
Consider South African-born singers Alice Phoebe and Gregory Alan Isakov, whose music now is filtered through their move to other cultures, or catch a return date with Ukraine’s quasi-theatrical DakhaBrakha.
The Los Angeles band Las Cafeteras brings a fresh spin on Mexican and Central American dance grooves. And closer to home there’s Alex Cuba, Canada’s Cuban-born multi-Grammy-winning singersongwriter based in British Columbia.
If all that wasn’t enough, add a special rising star of serious consequence, a virtuoso of the kora, ( West African 21-string harp), bent on bridging the ancient and the future. Singer-composer and multiinstrumentalist Sona Jobarteh finally has made a time-sharing deal with Sona Jobarteh, unofficial international ambassador for the West African nation of Gambia.
In a recent call to London, England, Jobarteh was taking a break from the recording studio, from sessions for her first new album in seven years.
“It’s been a long process, over two years now,” she explains, “because I’m putting a lot of work into it. I’m trying to innovate on the tradition, to find a context that translates to a changing society. I’m trying to make sure the music doesn’t get left behind, but at the same time I don’t want to lose elements that make it what it is. It’s about pushing
some boundaries and finding a balance.”
But that only hints at why it has been so long since her last release, 2011’s Fasiya (or Heritage).
At age 34, Jobarteh splits her time between making music and lobbying efforts for Africa, and for the school she founded in Gambia. When she’s not on the road she splits her life between London, where she was born, and Gambia, where her ancestral roots lie — in one of West Africa’s few families tied to the ancient griot tradition, an exclusive legacy of musical storytellers and leaders. That Jobarteh is the first woman to be part of that tradition says much about her unique place in the world.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing if I hadn’t had the support of my family when I was young. It was a difficult choice to do this, and then I had to have the tools to do it, but I was lucky. As a kora player I had the one-to-one mentorship first from my brother, and then my father and grandfather.”
Still, it wasn’t easy. For years she kept her training relatively private, away from the community, balancing her immersion in griot music and playing the kora with lessons in cello, piano and harpsichord at London’s Royal College of Music.
“Although I knew I wanted to play music, it wasn’t until later that I found the confidence to pursue this tradition, because there were so many boundaries that would not allow me. It was a leap of faith to put all of my hopes in this because I didn’t know if it was going to work.”
Eventually she made her debut away from the village and the community context, on stage, “where a different set of rules apply,” as she explains.
“In Africa, music is very integral to the community, to society and everyday life and every important occasion, but it’s not regarded as music for entertainment, it’s a function of what’s happening. So this is a new thing in the culture when artists go on stage and now it’s much bigger.”
When she makes her Canadian debut on the folk fest mainstage Sunday afternoon, Jobarteh will lead a hybrid sound, steeped in the kora and griot tradition, but in a fresh context with four extra musicians on guitar, percussion, bass and drums.
“What I do as a writer and composer in the studio is very, very different than what I do on stage. I play kora and guitar and sing on stage, but when I’m writing it’s a very personal experience.
“I play most of the instruments on the album with some people I’m featuring as solo artists, musicians from all different cultures and traditions, from Africa and from Europe. But there’s still something in common and that’s what I’m trying to highlight, the differences and the commonality that we all have.”
Jobarteh’s songs are delivered in two languages, Bambara for the older more traditional material, and Mandinka or Fula for her own newer original repertoire. She takes on universal themes of love and loss but along with that there’s a focus on the role of women in West Africa, and on hopes for peace amid the frequent turmoil in various corners of the African continent.
Her latest single, The Gambia, addresses the state of the smallest nation in Africa, which has a population of around two million.
“Now much of my work is tied to economic, cultural and social development in Gambia and to the academy, the school there. There are a lot of issues I’m facing very hard now so a lot of my songs address what I’m doing on the ground.
“That’s the work that has taken so much of my time, especially over the last two years. Now the school is running without me having to be there all the time and it will open later this year. We have to keep moving.”
Like the hypnotic rhythms inherent in her music, you can sense that Jobarteh is a driven person, always fighting for time to finish her next task whether that’s as an artist or an ambassador.
“For me it’s about trying to communicate to people, trying to spread a message, and to see change. It’s a struggle for me. If I don’t see change for the better I don’t get inspired to do anything.”
Now much of my work is tied to economic, cultural and social development in Gambia and to the academy, the school there.