issa coulibaly's debut cd

[bubudi]

issa coulibaly began studying the djembe and dunun when he was 11 in his home city of bamako, mali. he worked with singer nahawa doumbia and can be heard playing percussion on 2 of her albums (yankaw & yaala). his skill and reputation allowed him to tour africa and europe extensively before emigrating to america where he now lives. issa continues to perform from maine to puerto rico as the lead drummer and musical director for various african dance troupes.

his debut 'foliba' (may 2009) highlights his flamboyant playing style, original arrangements of traditional songs, and amply demonstrates his solid vocal skill.

the sound quality is good except for the tonal colour of issa's djembe. it reminds me of the way abdoul doumbia's djembe was captured on his album dembaya - sounds short and tinny and doesn't do justice to issa's playing. the content, however, is really good. issa represents the style favoured by the younger generation in bamako, yet manages to caress the deep grooves of southern mali with their intoxicating swing.



1. madan foli
2. didadi foli
3. soli
4. komo foli
5. sungurubani
6. sandia
7. zankoroni
8. manjani foli

duration: 49 min
available from: issacoulibaly@hotmail.com

sample track:

Issa Coulibaly - Zankoroni.mp3

(3.05 MiB) Downloaded 163 times

[rachelnguyen]

You know, I have been listening to this album non-stop for the last week or so and am really digging it. I don't find the djembe tinny. To me, it sounds exactly like Issa plays it, LOL. (At least that is how he sounded a couple weeks ago.) He is a gifted player, for sure.

I love the beautiful collaboration on the album. The tama is stunning. I met Yakouba Sissoko and heard him play when I was in Bamako and I think this album captures his playing really nicely.

The vocals are beautiful, too. There are several different singers, but it hangs together really well. I whole heartedly recommend it.

[Dugafola]

i agree with the "tinny" sounding djembe.

kinda reminds me of Abdoul Doumbia's Denbaya album.

you don't get to hear the hand like you do with a famoudou or mamady release.

[guedom]

Sungurubani

[Garvin]

Wow... Very cool phrasing. I definitely hear the same thing in terms of the sound. I just figured it was some Bamako thing I didn't know about. It sounds like someone with really big hands playing a 12.5-13" drum that is cranked to the point of popping. Again, I just assume there's something to this I don't understand. It's not bad or bothersome, just a different sound.

[bubudi]

loving this cd. interspersed between the improvisations i can hear sega cisse's phrasing on tracks like didadi and sungurubani.

well done to all the instrumentalists here, and also to the engineer at studio bogolan in mali. this is one of the best mixed drumming cds in terms of balancing all the instruments against the drums. to me the djembe accompaniments could have been toned down a bit but on the plus side this makes all the accompaniments clearly distinguishable. even a beginner could discern them. a djembe student's bliss!