T i m b u k t o u b a b

Timbuktu: legendary ancient cultural crossroads at the southern edge of the Sahara desert

Toubab: common expression in Francophone West Africa for "white person"

Mali has come to be widely regarded as a source of the musical traditions that evolved into Blues music; and the near-mythological city Timbuktu, located in the shifting sands of the southern Sahara, is where several powerful musical cultures thrive. Here is where, for example, the Songhai people call to the Jinn, the river spirits, with the Njarka, an ancient one-stringed violin made from the hairs of a blessed horse.

Blues-based songwriter Markus James has been travelling to Mali and recording original music with traditional Malian artists since 1994, when he made his way to the northern-Mali village of Niafounke to meet the legendary guitarist, Ali Farka Toure. His collaborations with traditional Malian musicians, featuring Mali's foremost calabash player Hamma Sankare (who toured and recorded with Ali Farka Toure for years), have received excellent critical acclaim in the US and Europe and led to performances in Northern Mali, and now to the new documentary film, Timbuktoubab.

Filmed in the sand dunes and villages in and around Timbuktu, Mali, and combining live performances, impressionistic music video sequences, travels to Niafounke, and interviews with Songhai master musicians Hamma Sankare and Hassi Sare in their native dialect of Sonrai (a film first), Timbuktoubab is a visually rich documentary of Markus James' unique and ongoing collaborations with three masters of traditional Malian music. The group has come together several times in the ancient multi-cultural crossroads of Timbuktu, to live and work together, writing songs and eventually giving their first public performance for the people of Timbuktu.

Hamma and Hassi are Songhai, known as "Koro e Boro", meaning "people who live in houses". The Songhai are considered to be the first people to settle in villages, and the ideas and philosophical observations behind Hamma and Hassi's lyrical contributions to the songs they compose with Markus reflect their ancient heritage.

Markus James is originally from Virginia and the DC area, where his first musical memory, from the age of four, is of an old, blind blues singer he saw many times playing on a sidewalk. Markus first encountered West African stringed music at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival when he was mesmerized by the Gambian Kora player and singer, Alhaji Bai Konte. After playing in various rock and R&B groups, Markus moved to the SF Bay Area where he pursued his interest in African, Indian, and Gamelan music, while also writing and recording original music in various rock styles. He travelled in West Africa and Haiti, studying traditional ensemble drumming, before first visiting Mali in 1994, when he made his way to the village of Niafounke to meet the legendary Ali Farka Toure. It was then that he first recorded with Wassoulou musician Solo Sidibe, and this became the "where you wanna be" album, released 6 years later. Markus has returned to Mali many times, where he has written and recorded blues-influenced music with traditional Malian musicians, notably his 2002 release "nightbird", which has been warmly received by critics in the US and Europe.

Markus' collaborations in Timbuktu with Hamma Sankare (Calabash player on Ali Farka Toure's tours and albums), Hassi Sare (master of the one-stringed Njarka violin), and Solo Sidibe (who plays the Kamele N'Goni, or hunter's harp of the Wassoulou people) are the subject of the documentary film and upcoming CD / DVD release, Timbuktoubab. This group has performed at the Festival In The Desert in 2003 and 2004, as well as in Timbuktu and other towns and villages in Northern Mali.

In the US, Markus performs with a group featuring Wassoulou musician Mamadou Sidibe. They have performed on numerous radio shows, including PRI / BBC's nationally syndicated program "The World", at festivals, and in clubs, and have an album due in 2005, which will feature special guest appearances by Coumba Sidibe, the original Wassoulou woman singer-songwriter, and Ramata Diakite, the new star of Wassoulou.

Hamma Sankare, a Songhai musician from the village of Niafounke, has played calabash on the legendary Ali farka Toure's albums and tours, and was recently awarded the national prize as the best calabash player in Mali. This musical tradition has been passed down in his family for generations, by the women, who use the gourd in food preparation, and later turn it upside down to make a kind of drum. Besides playing with artists like Ali Farka Toure and Afel Boucoum, Hamma plays in traditional settings, such as marriages, and spirit ceremonies.

Hassi Sare, a Songhai musician from the island village of Danga in the Niger River, is a master of the Njarka, the one-stringed violin of Northern mali's Songhai people. He performs with Hamma and Afel Bocoum, as well as for healing cermonies and other traditional events. The Njarka, with its single string made from the long, tail hairs of a strong horse, is used to call the Jinn, or river spirits.

Solo Sidibe, who plays the kamele n'goni, or hunter's harp, is a Wassoulou musician from Southern Mali. Both Wassoulou and Songhai music are pentatonic, and the rhythms, melodies and arrangements have come to be widely regarded as representing the source of what became Blues music. Solo is very involved with contemporary music production, as well as playing in traditional ensembles in the Wassoulou region.

Cinematographer: Moulaye Sayah is the cameraman in Northern Mali for ORTM, Malian National Television. Sayah is also a supporter of the region's musical artists, and is the director of a tradtional ensemble in Timbuktu.

Editor: John-Paul McLean is a graduate of the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Mass, and is involved with various musical and video technology applications.

Reviews of Nightbird:

"Nightbird is one of the deepest listening experiences that will hit the U.S. market this year."
--- BILLBOARD MAGAZINE

"Eerily atmospheric"
---DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE (FOUR STARS)

"A vital mix of the Mississippi Delta and Mali, a cultural exchange of haunting beauty and mystery."
---BLUES REVUE MAGAZINE

"The Best Music issue, 2003"
---GLOBAL RHYTHM MAGAZINE

"One of the most inspired and arresting world music/blues albums"
---DIRTY LINEN MAGAZINE

"This is a hypnotic journey through time that goes all the way to the heart of the blues.
--- WIRED MAGAZINE

"The word soulful certainly describes this excellent CD, which blues, rock, and Afro-pop enthusiasts should all be aware of."
--- ALL MUSIC GUIDE

(4 & 1/2 stars)
"Spare, moody, and beautiful, it builds a bridge between continents, and takes the blues home."
---fROOTS MAGAZINE (UK)

Quotes from radio hosts about Markus and Mamadou's live, on-air performances:

"Bringing the best of roots music of two continents, Markus and Mamadou truly play with soul."
--Scott Stevens, "Spin the Globe", KAOS radio, Olympia, Washington

"Markus James bridges two cultures with his blues guitar and the help of Mamadou Sidibe's kamele n'goni."
--Marco Werman, "the World", BBC / PRI

"It was like sharing water at the well."
--Jeff Grubb, "Global Village", KUSP radio, Santa Cruz, Calif.