fR312 PAGES 39-40-41 5/5/09 13:12 Page 3
41 f
he music
T
business
has not
been kind
to Kasse
Mady. He has been
recognised as Mali’s
finest authentic singer
since being sought out
to sing for the Maravil-
las De Mali. This was
the group made up of
musicians who, as part
of the government’s
post-Independence
Photo: Philip Ryalls
cultural authenticity
policy, had spent time
studying in Cuba. It
became the hugely popular Badema (family) Nationale, but
things have not been easy for Kasse Mady. Musicians cover his
work without crediting him, performing Kela songs which they
are not entitled to play and claiming copyright which is not
theirs. But he does not complain of this to me.
His work with Toumani Diabate, a distant relation whom
Kasse Mady “loves like a brother”, has raised his profile abroad
though he’s underused in the Symmetric Orchestra. But it’s differ-
ent in Bamako on a Friday night, he tells me, when he might pop
down to Toumani’s regular gig and sing.
He enjoys collaborating with other musicians, “If someone
respects me and likes my music I’ll give my entire body to the
work. It was like that with Tunde [Jegede]. He respects me a lot
you know. We made an album together and that went very well.”
His performance of Kulanjan on his collaboration with Taj Mahal &
Toumani Diabate (Hannibal) also went well. It was the only album
on President Obama’s top-five list of things to listen, watch or
read: “A beautiful melding of traditional blues and music from
Mali…” he said.
Kasse Mady is also a fine guitarist and ngoni player, having
learnt the latter from his father from the age of seven. Sadly, five
years ago, travelling home after a gig on New Year’s Eve, his pock-
ets stuffed with cash, his scooter crashed on a tripwire across the
road. Kasse Mady was thrown badly, fleeced and left for dead. His
hand needed a metal plate that has since, depressingly, prevented
him from playing.
In some ways, says Lucy Duran, his refusal to chase money or
success means he’s even more loved in Mali where he’s hugely
respected for never having sold out. He’s valued as an upright citi-
zen with a strong moral code. She recounted a time when driving
there and she was stopped by a police roadblock. Expecting to
have to hand over large wads of cash as normal, she was pleasant-
ly surprised when the police, on spotting that she was with Kasse
Mady, were so happy to meet him that they put their hands deep
into their pockets and paid him instead. Realising what a bonus it
was travelling with Kasse Mady, she had no worries about being
held up at the Guinean border for hours as usual. “I was so
wrong,” she laughs. “It took at least five hours, because every sin-
gle guard we had to pass wanted him to sing for them.”
Things are changing in Mali. Singers with a more ‘pop’
approach are in demand for weddings and other occasions, which is
not good news for those trying to carry on the tradition like Kasse
Mady’s daughter, Awa Kasse Mady, who has inherited her father’s
amazing talent. It’s difficult to live now as a traditional griot but
Kasse Mady is held in such high esteem because he represents a
bridge to the past that everyone knows will be broken when he’s
gone. There are other griots, other master musicians, but they sim-
ply don’t have the wealth of knowledge that Kasse Mady has.
I tell him that his collaboration with Taj Mahal is Obama’s only
music choice on his top-five list. He thinks he’s misheard me. No it’s
true! “Ah bon?! Barack Obama!” He’s incredulous. “C’est le
préféré? Ce qu’on a fait? Moi, je ne savais pas ça!” He’s clearly
pleased. Where Barack Obama leads, it seems others follow. Let’s
hope this holds true in Kasse Mady’s case so that he gets the
worldwide recognition he and his music so richly deserve.
With grateful thanks to Lucy Duran for her in-depth knowl-
edge and all her help, Mark Kidel for Under African Skies – Mali
and Max Kinder for charming translation. F
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