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Mariza, Bridgewater Hall, Saturday, 6 February 2010

Current Portugese fado queen Mariza is not an obvious contender for best known singer in world roots music so it was an unexpected and very pleasurable surprise to see that the event was extremely well attended with the audience coming from as far afield as Argentina, Brazil, France and Spain, not to mention all parts of the north-west. Mariza cuts a quasi-supermodel figure with a tall and slender frame, futuristic ash-red dress, closely cropped blond hair and theatrical gesticulations that an actress at the Royal Exchange would be proud of. However, it is her voice that everyone is here to sample and what a distinctive diction it has too. The clarity of the delivery is simply astounding and takes one’s breath away even if the lyrics are entirely in Portugese (bar one song as an encore).

Accompanying the fado diva are three guitarists on collectively mandolin, acoustic lead and bass, and they teak a leaf out of the three great guitarists tour (Paco de Lucia, John McLaughlin and Al DiMeola) with the spotlight on them dressed in black and sat on stools on either side of the stage with the lead guitarist in the middle. Providing occasional accompaniment are a drummer/percussionist and pianist who also doubles up as a trumpeter. Part of the genius of Mariza’s repertoire is to constantly mix up these elements to provide endless variety for the listener. Mariza entertains the audience between numbers with her excellent command of English and on one number explains why a song is devoted to her native city of Lisbon where fado reigns supreme. The uptempo number has the audience immediately clapping while the mandolin player delivers a refined solo. On other compositions Mariza reveals the intimacy of fado with a beautifully excecuted ballad and one that indicates just how fado has become the Portugese man and woman’s take on the blues. Sometimes with the quintet in full flow the music takes on jazzy overtones and Mariza comes across as the logical modern day inheritor of Amelia Rodrigues’ mantle as the undisputed all-time fado great. This is particularly noticeable on the songs where the trumpeter plays a muted harmon in the style of late 1950 and early 1960s Miles Davis and where sheer sophistication simply oozes out of the ensemble sound. A good deal of credit should also go to the multi-percussionist who manages even with hand drums to create layers of sound that compliment Mariza’s vocals to perfection and blend in ideally with the guitar trio, no easy feat for a drummer.

The audience are very appreciative of the fact that Mariza in her introductions goes to some lengths to explain the reasoning behind her recordings and in particular the latest album’ Terra’ from which much of tonight’s repertoire is taken. At one point Mariza departs stage to rightly allow the three guitarists to take centre stage and engage in what is referred to in Portugese as ‘guitarrata’, with the bassist soloing while the other two accompany sensitively. The tempo suddenly increases a notch and we then find the trio playing in unison with a distinctly gypsy feel and the music taken at a rapid tempo. The mandolin player solos displays great dexterity until Mariza finally re-appears on stage and the guitarists are introduced in turn by her. Crucial to understanding the logic of fado is the concept of ‘saudade’, which Mariza translates as ‘longing’ and is one of the recurring themes of the fado songbook alongside love and lust. That she manages to convey this to the audience while reciting a song devoted to nineteenth century female poets in Portugal is testimony to her unquestionable communicative skills. Mariza recounts how her early childhood was spent in Africa (Mozambique to be precise) before she returned with her family to Lisbon. She then takes the audience to the south of Portugal with a song that has all the flavours of Spanish flamenco and at a brisk tempo then invites the audience to clap along which they respond to immediately. The warm rapport with the audience is all too evident and Mariza responds to this by descending the stage and singing among the audience, much to the latter’s delight followed by a mandolin solo con mucho gusto before there is a deliberate paused silence and then a dramatic vocal re-entry by Mariza once again on stage. The singer has a complete command of proceedings and to a standing ovation this seems a wonderful way for the evening to come to a conclusion.

However, all is not yet finished and to a second standing ovation, Mariza and the band return on stage at which point the singer then calls out to the audience to determine where precisely in the world they come from. For the first time Mariza starts to sing in English, a heartfelt rendition of ‘I’ve been crying over you’, before, as a second encore, the mandolin and lead guitarist go close up to Mariza in the middle of the stage to create further initmacy and the singer commences for the final time a classic mid-tempo groove of a song with the audience clapping throughout. A marvellous way to conclude an evening of Portugese soul music projected straight into the heart of Manchester.

Tim Stenhouse

African Soul Rebels Tour Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 28 February 2010

As ever an eclectic mix of styles from the African continent were presented and this year’s instalment of the African Soul Rebels featured musicians from as far afield as West and southern Africa, with the little known nation of Benin represented by the Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Contonou. It was indeed the latter who started off proceedings, a kind of equivalent of Senegal’s Orchestra Baobab, though with a quite different and more urban sound. The group were in their prime during the 1970s and 1980s before disbanding and were known throughout the region for their Afro-funk beats. Comprising a ten piece band with three horns, two lead vocalists, beefed up percussion and the obligatory cheesey keyboard, Poly-Rythmo immediately set about hitting the choiciest of retro grooves with the reed players providing a wonderful counterpoint to the singers. Stylistically Poly-Rythmo oscillate between Afro-funk (though never derivative of the Nigerian sub-genre) with a subtle use of the drumbeat pattern associated with the music and more laid back styles that enable the emotional warm of the saxophonists and trumpeter to shine through. Key to the overall sound is the use of rhythm guitar to propel the beat and this is what Poly-Rythmo do to perfection while the slick arrangements fail to prevent the band from offering a rawer edge to their music, as their excellent recent compilation from 2007 ‘The Kings of Urban Groove 1972-1980’ so amply illustrated. It was this gritty side to the band’s repertoire that had the audience on the edge of their seats, particularly on the extended workouts with manic percussion work from the bongo player and reed players doubling up on cowbell to add an extra layer. Call and response dialogue with the public worked wonders and on the minor themes the band came across as akin to the Malian supergroup the Ambassadeurs with whom Salif Keita first plied his trade. Make no doubt about it, this was a master class in African big band extravagazna and the sheer versatility of the musicians in shifting from one style to another made for an intoxicating beginning to the evening.

Taking centre stage as the principal act for the final performance, Malian diva Oumou Sangare cuts an imposing tall, yet equally elegant figure and arrived on the stage after her two female vocalists has entertained the audience with their tambourines. The band hit an instantaneous rhythmic groove and were made up of kora player, hand drummer as well as two guitarists and flautist, with the West African calabash instrument intriguingly stuck to what appeared to be a piece of plywood and played on a table. The lilting sound of the band serves as an ideal background over which Oumou’s piercing nasal vocals soared and enveloped the auditorium. They excelled on the mid-tempo numbers and the building of intensity was enhanced by Sangare inviting the audience to clap along which they immediately reacted to. Oumou Sangare has had to fight long and hard to achieve her status in Malian society and was anxious to point out that in her native country, and in Africa more generally, the plight of women is an extremely hasardous one. She devoted one song to this very subject and emphasized the inestimable contribution that women make to society as mothers. Despite language barriers, Sangage managed to convey this message most effectively. Instantly recognisable were the introductory chords to one of her most loved songs, ‘Wanita’ where for once her vocal delivery was far more delcate and restrained, entering into a lengthy call and response session with her two vocalists. By now the audience were up out of their seats and Oumou Sangare departed to a standing ovation which ended the evening on a high note.

In between the two main acts were a relatively little known trio from Capetown, South Africa, the Kalahrai Surfers who are a clear indication of the multi-racial side of South African music in the twenty-first century and of the multitude of musical influences that South Africa has taken on board, including techno or electronica as evidenced by the array of sound effects the trio had at their disposal. For instrumentation the trio use programming beats plus bass and rhythm guitarists while the vocals veer sometimes towards reggae and at other times towards mainstream reggae, and even indie rock that takes in Talking Heads’ innovations. This made for an interesting contrast with the primarily acoustic instrumentation of the other two acts and was a reminder of how globalisation has greatly facilitated the dissemination of newer electronic sounds to the African continent. Particularly impressive was the use by the Kalahari Surfers of lyrics to put across political content as demonstrated on songs such as ‘General amnesty’ and ‘Child soldier’.

Tim Stenhouse