New Release
Snakeskin Violin

"profound world blues passage... extremely distinctive pieces, driven by a seductive rhythmic circularity that's a keystone of Malian traditional tunes and Delta blues."
—BILLBOARD MAGAZINE

"The mix of sounds, instruments, and influences spanning the program is mind-boggling"
—LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE

"Africa and Mississippi come together..."
—BLUES REVUE MAGAZINE

"This is an extremely powerful album"
—Ben Manilla, Executive Producer, House of Blues Radio Hour

"Snakey"
—Elwood Blues


Markus James’ Snakeskin Violin featured on:
House of Blues Radio Hour
Afropop Worldwide
Blues Deluxe
XM Cafe

Snakeskin Violin reviewed on afropop.org

California singer/songwriter Markus James—latter day blues man and self-described “Timbuktoubab”—is back with a new set of songs recorded with an ever-widening cast of West African and southern American collaborators. James travels regularly to Mali to collaborate, perform, and record with musicians there, mostly from the Sonrai community of Timbuktu and Niafunke, and with Wassoulou musicians from the south. In his most varied and satisfying album to date, James delivers 15 songs that range from brooding minimalism to rollicking fusions of African and American sensibilities.

The opener “I Won’t Let It” sets a vigorous pace with a tangle of kamelengoni (gourd harp) and guitar, including slide, and stinging electric lead. James never makes a show of his guitar riffing, but clearly he’s been absorbing Malian guitar language. Weaved together with rambling rap, the song culminates in a defiant refrain, backed by a deep, male vocal chorus. “Are You Ready (Mississippi Daze)” is another cranker, this time grounded in the rocking groove of Calvin Jackson playing drums in Oxford, Mississippi. James’s voice—sometimes a growling whisper, sometimes an edgy, blues-soaked moan—works especially well in this context. Similarly, on “Weather Vane,” a psychedelic re-Africanization of the Bo Diddley beat with wailing, overblown harmonica.

Other songs hew closer to the spacious, smoldering aesthetic James has always favored. “So Much Soul” is very nearly a tone poem with Mama Sissoko on ngoni (spike lute) and Vieux Farka Toure on guitar. “Drivin’ By” morphs a slow, bluesy vamp with the gruff, soulful stylings of Zoumana Tereta, the great master of southern Mali’s one-string fiddle, the sokou. James fearlessly combines traditions—Tuareg folklore with rock guitar on “Exile Tracks,” Wassoulou and Sonrai music on “All That You Can’t Keep,” kamelengoni and calabash loping north to south on “Mystified.” These joinings never feel forced, as they are always in service of the song. In James’s work, mood and sonic texture always trump stylistic purity, or lyrics for that matter. Interweavings of English and African languages slide by easily, for the emotion lies in the music and the singing, not the words.

Years of hard work have paid off for James, an artist who has done as much as anyone to kick open the doors too long separating American and West African roots music. James brings African music comfortably into the American fold, without denaturing or cheapening it. He also maintains a distinct persona in the process, showing that it is possible to pass through these transforming cultural doorways without losing yourself.

Banning Eyre, afropop.org

Markus James interviewed in Vancouver's Georgia Straight
"Markus James takes blues back to its African roots"
straight.com

Markus James’ Snakeskin Violin featured on House of Blues Radio Hour

HOB Radio Hour:
How African music has shaped the blues, and how the blues returns the favor. The influence of Africa is traced in songs by Johnny Shines and John Lee Hooker, and then the Radio Hour goes to the source itself - music from Mali musician Boubacar Traore. Then Markus James jumps into the mix with his new CD, SNAKESKIN VIOLIN, recorded in Mali, Mississippi, and California, accompanied by African musicians and instruments, and his own wicked slide guitar. He talks about how we can hear - even today - the roots and rhythms of the blues in the street music of Mali. Then Markus is joined by two friends from Africa for a live performance in studio - even improvising a new radio jingle for the Radio Hour.

Markus James remembers Ali Farka Toure click here.

Markus James remembers Hassi Sare click here.

“The magic is not only about the rich, brooding sound textures that he and his musicians craft, simmering grooves and ethereal melodies that elide the worlds of the Mississippi and Niger Rivers. It also extends to lyrics and meaning. Working with Wassoulou legend Coumba Sidibe, James co-writes a song about guardian spirits. Ali Farka Toure heard the song on his deathbed, and was deeply impressed by the depth of its lyrics. “You really have something here,” he told James, rewarding him more richly than any reviewer could.”
—fROOTS Magazine (UK), Jan/Feb 2007

* Calabash Blues on Afropop Worldwide’s 2006 “Highly Recommended" list

* Calabash Blues in Downbeat Magazine:
"Don't miss the Skip James tribute 'Dream After Dream,' a sublime evocation of a landscape stretching from the muddy Delta to sun-baked Sahara sand" - DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE, April 2006

* Calabash Blues at #3 on RMR's Roots Blues Airplay chart

Timbuktoubab receives CINE Golden Eagle Award

Firenze Records is pleased to announce that Timbuktoubab, a film produced by Markus James for Magmo Productions, has won a prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Award. The CINE Golden Eagle awards are recognized internationally as symbols of the highest production standards in filmmaking and videogaphy. CINE has, since its founding in 1957, been dedicated to discovering, rewarding, educating, and supporting established and emerging talent in film and video.

www.cine.org

Cinema Tuesdays Review

Timbuktoubab, a Musical Journey

"All in all, "Timbuktoubab" is a wonderful documentary, a must see for music lovers and armchair travelers alike. The fast pace and uplifting message bring a tap to the foot and a smile on the face."
     -Deirdre Saravia, Texas Public Radio

To read the full review, click here.

Rating:  Artist: Markus James CD:  Timbuktoubab Label: Firenze Records Genre:  Roots Rock / Blues

"When Californian Markus James gets together with Malian musicians Hassi Sare (njarka violin, vocals), Solo Sidibe (kamele n'goni, vocals) and Hamma Sankare (calabash, vocals)—as he did for "Timbuktoubab"—what emerges is haunting music that conjures the very soul of the Sahara. Just as remarkable is the way James evokes the spirit of the blues in these tracks, connecting with a vibe that's as ancient as Timbuktu itself. He wrote all the songs with his Malian bandmates, and the lyrics are rife with evocative images of the Sahel that are metaphoric and literal. Every song on "Timbuktoubab" is a piece of magic that will draw in listeners and work its own spell. It is accompanied by a DVD, which is equally inspiring. The film offers an uncommon insight into the inhabitants and the music of Mali. This, in turn, goes a long way toward explaining James' passionate connection to these people and their music." Racked in the United States by Burnside.

-PVV, BILLBOARD MAGAZINE

Markus James:
Timbuktoubab
( Firenze Records)

Guitarist/songwriter Markus James scored a major critical success with his world music album Nightbird in 2001. The CD—recorded with musicians from the West African nation of Mali—was an absolutely uncanny evocation of blues and Malian traditional music, and it was certainly one of the most inspired world music projects of the year. James has once again returned to Mali for his new release, Timbuktoubab. Enlisting the brilliant support of Hassi Sare (njarka violin, vocals), Solo Sidibe (kamele n’goni, vocals), and Hamma Sankare (calabash, vocals), James has crafted another stunning collection of tunes that have as distinctive a sound as any music being tracked nowadays. Songs such as “Sixteen Camels/Yer Man Ya Li,” “Far as I Can Run/Majirica Samba,” and “Tele/Fire at the Gate” capture both the solitude of the Sahara and the spirit of the blues. The njarka, calabash and kamele n’goni—traditional Malian instruments—produce sonic textures that are aural descriptions of the vast, lonely Sahel. James’ guitar, rooted at once in the blues and the guitar stylings of Malian masters such as Ali Farka Toure and Boubacar Traore, is every bit as compelling as his dusky, impassioned vocals. Timbuktoubab is a moving listening experience from start to finale, and will surely be remembered at the end of the year as one of the finest world music titles of 2005.

Timbuktoubab 10 weeks on CMJ New World top 20 Radio Chart, Spring 2005i if you are a radio programmer and would like to download tracks from Timbuktoubab via radiosubmit.com, click here.

New UK 2-CD Compilation Set, Featuring Ali Farke Toure, Tinariwen, Baabaa Maal, Oumou Sangare, and others. Includes the Track "Rain" by Markus James with Solo Sidibe, from the album "Nightbird" For more info click here.

“Timbuktoubab was a highlight of the Mill Valley Film Festival. The bridge between U.S. blues and traditional Malian music was made palpable, both onscreen and in live performances by Markus James and The Wassonrai. It was a dynamic and memorable event for an enthusiastic audience. --Zoë Elton, Director of Programming, 27th Mill Valley Film Festival

LOS ANGELES TIMES

WORLD MUSIC REVIEW
African rhythms, textures that reach out to the West

By Don Heckman, Special To The Times

"The Festival in the Desert — described as the "most remote music festival on the planet" — has taken place since 2001 near Timbuktu in the African Sahara. A celebration of the culture of the nomadic Touregs of northern Mali, and an extension of traditional annual gatherings, it also has welcomed performers from other parts of Mali, Africa and the world. Sunday afternoon at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, the group Tinariwen, Malian diva Ramatou Diakite and blues artist Markus James afforded an opportunity to experience some aspects of the festival without the trip into the depths of the Sahara.


...American guitarist-singer-songwriter James — who has been recording and performing his original blues based, Mali-tinged numbers for a decade — appeared with a pair of traditional Malian musicians. Accompanied by the African kora and calabash drum, James' rich baritone voice blended amiably with the seemingly unlikely sounds, enlivened by his rhythmic strumming and bottleneck slides. James' compositions largely abandoned familiar blues chords in favor of a hypnotic suspension of moving harmonies and an emphasis on lyrical expressiveness — particularly effective in numbers such as 'Weathervane'and 'Do You Do?'"