MG

OK – who’s playing guitar on the version of “Seydou Bathily”? It could be Salif but I saw him playing guitar on a TV programme several years ago and I don’t think the guitar playing on that track is much like I remember him playing on the TV documentary. Who it DOES sound like to me is Kante Manfila, who was Salif’s partner in the band “Les Ambassadeurs”. The pair had recorded “Seydou Bathily” in 1980 – a completely different version, of course – and it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to me that Manfila would have hung out with Salif, even so long after they’d broken up the band.

Here’s a link to Graeme Counsel’s discography of Salif.

http://www.radioafrica.com.au/Discographies/Salif.html

I must say that I’m not really all that keen on Salif Keita. Not that he’s bad, but there are so many Mandinke singers (I have nearly 250 Mandinke albums) who are better; whose music – whether celebratory or cerebratory – moves me so much more.

Here are a few Mandinke guitar albums you might want to try finding – they’ve all been out on CD.

Kante Manfila – Kankan blues – Popular African Music
Sekou Bembeya Diabate – Diamond fingers – Dakar Sound (originally issued as “Diata” on AMD, if you can find Guinean K7s in San Diego )
Djessou Mory Kante – Guitare seche – Popular African Music
Grand Papa Diabate – Guitar, extra dry – Popular African Music.

MG