The ambassador of Malian music, Baba Sissoko, who has played with Sting, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Youssou N'Dour, Buena Vista Social Club, Dee Dee Bridgewater, is certainly well known to the Lithuanian audience. Back in 2012, together with Viktoras Diawara, Laurita Peleniute, Saulius Petreikis and Indre Jurgelevičiūtė, he recorded the album "MaLituanie", which combines the musical traditions of Mali and Lithuania, and has subsequently performed in our country many times. A great vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, playing the West African "talking drums" tamani and many other instruments (ngoni, guitar, drums, balafon, calabash, sildrum, kamelngoni), he is also known as a builder of many other musical bridges. Great examples are his 2017 album with Mighty Mo Rodgers, Griot Blues, which seems to have brought the blues back to its roots, and at the same time refreshed it with a Malian twist, or Khalab & Baba, recorded with DJ Khalab, which combines ethnic African music and electronica.
The unique thing about Baba Sissoko is also that he comes from the "griot" tradition of West Africa. "Griot are wandering musicians, storytellers and keepers of oral traditions. It is a title and a duty that has been passed down through the male family line and still exists in the region today.
This time Baba will be accompanied by the very colourful Mediterranean Blues, giving the audience the perfect opportunity to hear how African motifs are combined with a fiery Italian spirit, with a blend of funk, rock and a host of other unpredictable elements.
Athletes
Baba Sissoko - vocals, ngoni, talking drum Ady Thioune - djembe, bougaroubu, congas, vocals Eric Cisbani - drums Angelo Napoli - electric guitar Walter Monini - bass guitar, backing vocals Alessandro de Marino - clarinet, keyboards Domenico Canale - armonica, violin, vocals
WALTER TROUT (USA)
Video:
https://youtu.be/UKXxImxkJjE?si=Ef3BlUOrX1RaKOe6
https://youtu.be/lGCItezxZkU?si=01Nth2yBigf51QnS
Will we often hear the bluesman, who played with blues legends John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton, in Lithuania? And who was also the solo guitarist of the legendary Canned Heat for three years? As if that weren't enough, the same bluesman went through the famous blues forge John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, where Eric Clapton and Peter Green made their names. Yes, these are all details and stages of Walter Trout's musical biography. And, as if that wasn't enough, on top of it all is a solid solo career. The first stamp of this is his debut album Life in the Jungle, released in 1989 and often regarded as one of the best in the blues-rock genre.
A spectacular guitarist, a perfect blend of virtuosity and sensitivity, a brilliant songwriter and singer, Walter Trout is one of the standard bearers of the classic American blues rock sound. A sound that, while lyrical, is optimistic (Walter himself emphasises the tendency towards light in his work), and in which a long, expressive and telling guitar solo often takes centre stage.
On 1 March, Trout's new album Broken was released, which, according to Trout himself, is dominated by more sombre themes, dealing with the world's issues and the stark contradictions between people. But nothing is irreparable - this is Trout's philosophy, which is also reflected in this album. Walter could not think otherwise, because he himself has been through hell, barely survived, relearning how to play the guitar and how to live, because when you are in a dark abyss, there is nothing left to do but cling to that single ray of light.
The new album also features guest stars Beth Hart on vocals, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, and lip-armonica virtuoso Will Wilde. The guitarist says it's important for him to feel his own growth and progress as a musician. So Trout is not only a blues-rock legend and icon, but also a musician who never stops searching and challenging himself.
