Today we are delighted to welcome kora player Jally Kebba Susso as he picks a soothing suite of Sunday morning jams for MailTape.
Expanding the boundaries of kora traditions, Jally blends West African music with jazz, funk and sounds from London’s multitudinous music scenes. His most recent album, [Banjul-London](https://jallykebbasusso.bandcamp.com/album/banjul-london), released in 2017, will be a thoroughly uplifting and positive 48 minutes of your time!
If you're in London, Jally will headlining the [Infinite Ear Live Series](https://www.facebook.com/events/472952969809853/?active_tab=about) at Bloc on 29th June and playing at the great [Shambala Festival](https://www.shambalafestival.org/) on 26th August.
Jally Kebba Susso’s selection
Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Ségal – Chamber Music
Jally Kebba Susso: ” This song is really evocative to me. It reminds me of growing up in Gambia. When the elders are sitting down at night time doing their sumuog, when they gather together to play music and have conversations. Depending on who was around you’d hear the balaphon and kora played. It’s a soothing song. Soothing and emotional. “
Soriba Kouyaté – Kanakassi
Jally Kebba Susso: ” Just beautiful. THIS is the definition of beauty. And this song is one of my biggest inspirations. Even when I am angry, I can listen to this song and it calms me right down… Soriba was light-years ahead of his time in terms of his versatility and innovation. I learnt a lot from him. But he is no more now. He passed away… It is unique song. It can always take you on a journey. “
James Brown – This is a Man’s World
Jally Kebba Susso: ” James Brown, man. The technicality of how he puts his music together—the instrumentation—is something that is beyond expression. I can just feel it. It is unfiltered. Straight from his heart. When you listen to it it touches you straight. His music has opened lots of doors for me, inspirationally. The music has lots of elements that to me represent different things. It is very colourful. It feels like it is going to go somewhere, in a different direction, but it keeps you right there… in a great way. “
MailTape’s selection
Jally Kebba Susso – Ajama
Sanjay: ” Written and recorded with the help of his band, Manding Sabu, Jally Kebba Susso’s album ‘Banjul-London’ is guided by rhythms, dances and stories written, sung and played by a burgeoning line of “London-griots”. “
Faith Mussa – Mdidi
Sanjay: ” I saw Faith Mussa supporting Jally Kebba Susso at Dalston Curve Garden in London earlier this month, and he played with seemingly boundless energy. His one man band act is impressive and anyone who thinks Ed Sheeran can do some good loops should see Faith Mussa show how it’s really done. “
Miriam Makeba – Liwawechi
Sanjay: ” Writing about Miriam Makeba is a daunting task. And one I’m not really qualified to do. More generally, this track is taken from ‘Homeland’—her first album recorded in South Africa since recording with the Manhattan Brothers in the late 1950s. Writing in 1989, Carol Cooper claimed that ‘[Miriam] sings with the smoky tones and delicate phrasing of Ella Fitzgerald, and when the occasion demands, she summons up the brassy showmanship of Ethel Merman and the intimate warmth of Frank Sinatra’. “
Sona Jobarteh – Saya
Sanjay: ” This is a haunting track described as a song ‘about loss and of the feeling you are left with and the pain one suffers’. If you’re in London on 18th June, Sona will be performing at the Jazz Cafe. ”
That’s it for this morning. As always, thanks for listening and much love and gratitude to Jally Kebba Susso, and to Camille Célestin for this episode’s cool illustration!
