Order
this CD
Muzungu
is a set of original compositions which illustrate Africa
and more particularly central Africa. This CD was conceived
over a rather long period : 'The Soaring Hawk' was written
in 1985 whereas more recent pieces like 'Sicap Amitié'
are very recent. If it took such a long time to finalize
this CD it is because I had made the choice to privilege
work with other musicians, but also because I was dissatisfied
with my guitar-playing especially in Congolese tracks.
Furthermore this style of music being non-profitable I
had to find the financial means to finance it without
expecting any returns.
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Muzungu
means "the white man" in Swahili, the most spoken
language in eastern Africa. It is music that is inspired
by Africa but seen by an European.
I drew on traditional African music but I added to it many
elements coming from jazz , European folk music and even
classical music. |
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The African influence is most noticeable in the rhythm of
the pieces, with each track having a different rhythm which
is easily identifiable by anyone familiar with this culture.
My guitar-playing is also very much inspired by the various
types of African urban music.
The choice of instruments such as sax, trombone, piano
is clearly jazz-oriented as well as the way in which the
themes are being played and improvisations are being carried
out.
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The
'european music' contribution lies in the general conception
of the pieces with a very strict musical writing including
several musical layers , variations in musical colours
and developments of themes in several variations.
All
these elements are present in variable proportions in
the various tracks but still hopefully form a coherent
set.
For
these recordings, I could benefit from the talents of
many excellent musicians from diverse backgrounds. I
would like to thank them here for their contribution
and the way they transformed my musical scores into emotions.
Saxophones:
Pierre Vaiana, Philippe Leblanc, Vincent Maerdens
Flute: Pierre Bernard
Trumpet: Pierre Malempré
Trombone: Mangi Muruni
Bass: François Nys, François Garny, Papy Tshimanga
Percussions: Christian Thirion, Yannick Koy, Ben Ngabo
Drums: Christian Thirion, Alonzo Nzau Kora : Bao Cissoko
Nylon Guitar: Malick Pathé Sow
Pygmy voices: Yannick Koy
Guitars,
keyboards, percussions, programming and all kind of additional
instruments: Robert Falk
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- @ 2005 Robert Falk