Jazz Odyssey

Having missed an opportunity in Bristol in February, I had the good fortune and great privilege to see Fatoumata Diawara and her band in Cheltenham on Sunday.

Appearing on the bill of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Fatoumata was one of several artists that stretched the definition of jazz somewhat, although it's fair to say that she has smashed through many barriers to what a Malian musician should be and play, so why not?

It was a series of firsts: my first time seeing Fatoumata live in concert, my first time at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival and my first time at the Town Hall for any reason, let alone a gig. Much like the John Cale gig at the Subscription Rooms in Stroud last year, the stalls area was turned over to rows of folding chairs, but in a much grander surround.

It was looking half empty until the 2 minute call, when floods of people took their seats. I was amused by the two very bored looking kids in the above pre-show photo, no doubt dragged along by their hipster parents for a bit of enforced education. Suffice to say there were a fair few babies and children in the audience, with or without noise cancelling headsets, though they will have done little to reduce the average age in the room.

Another aspect of the Jazz Festival setting was that Fatoumata was playing at 2.00pm with a strict 3.15pm cut off, so roughly about half a hour less than the Bristol show the previous month (I know this because the latter has already been posted on YouTube). Not that it mattered of course: this was a full on, energetic set, Fatoumata and band ensuring that the audience got a full and fulfilling experience.

The band quietly took to the stage, dressed smartly and uniformly in shirts, black waistcoats and trousers, the occasional hat; guitar, bass, keyboards, drums. Nothing fancy, nothing distracting, the star of the show was still to come. As they settled into an extended intro to Tolon, from last year's London Ko album, Fatoumata arrived from stage left like a queen addressing her subjects. Albeit a queen with a guitar strapped on and ready to play.

The photos will not do her justice, but Fatoumata looked spectacular, matching yellow headress and flowing skirts, black leather bodice over a red PVC T-shirt, gold bracelets, black lips framing a stellar smile. She completely owned the stage before she had played a single chord or sung a single note.

I've relatively recently bought Fatoumata Diawara's albums, each with a slightly different musical flavour and focus. London Ko is a further exploration and expansion of her musical palette, and mostly co-produced with Damon Albarn. The set draws heavily from this album but in a live setting, the songs are stretched out considerably, with the electronic studio versions swapped out for funky with a capital F. Fatoumata's a mean guitar player too, at times seemingly channeling Hendrix. There are no rules here, it's all about feeling the music, on stage and in the audience.

About four songs in, Fatoumata addresses the audience. "I want to introduce the next song, Sété. I want to bring awareness about the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation that is still prevalent in many parts of Africa". She then goes on to talk about her personal experience of FGM, haemorrhaging on a table, surviving and using her platform to call to put an end to this barbaric practice and "give children the space they deserve as they represent our hope for a better future".

 

This is important as Fatoumata largely sings in Bambara, so to these untutored ears, Sété is otherwise an uplifting and beautifully sung song, with no idea of it's lyrical content. Fatoumata addresses the audience again later, with message about female inspirations, strength and empowerment. She has been told that women from Mali should not be fronting a band, writing their own songs or exploring other musical genres. Thank goodness Fatoumata ignored all of this and carried on. 

Acknowledging Nina Simone as major influence (cue round of applause), Fatoumata goes into a version of Feeling Good, that feels completely and utterly her own. It's an incredible few minutes and another striking example of her voice in full effect. Fatoumata manages to skip and dance around scales, seemingly effortlessly, but this is no Whitney or Mariah-style vocal gymnastics and a joy to hear.

Again, my hastily snatched photos do an injustice in capturing the occasional and minor costume changes. At one point, the headdress comes off to reveal another towering creation underneath.

Later on, Fatoumata returns to the stage wearing a mask. When that is removed, black headgear with a white streak running back from the forehead is in place. 

How any of it stays on is another minor miracle, given that Fatoumata is very active on stage, not least with three or four turns as a spinning top, with or without guitar. Fatoumata introduces the band midway through the set but let's be honest, she is a completely and utterly compelling stage presence, to the extent that you can easily forget that there's anyone else on stage with her. Having seen the Bristol gig on YouTube, I can also say that the absence of a large screen backdrop at Cheltenham was very welcome; logistics aside, it would have been superfluous.

And then it was all over. Fatoumata and band lined up, holding hands and taking a bow, before the mass exodus blinking into the mid-afternoon daylight. Was it all a dream? Happily not.

 

Sadly, Mrs. K wasn't able to join me as planned, so I'm hoping that we both get to see Fatoumata Diawara when she next returns to the South West...

 

I usually try to recreate the setlist whenever I can. I've not done it here for a few reasons:

1) As the set was mostly made up of the London Ko album, albeit in a different running order, I'd much rather you bought her album(s) from Bandcamp or the like;

2) To be honest, I quickly forgot what the exact setlist order was; and

3) Doing my own selection means that I can drop in more songs from Fatoumata's other albums.

So, here's a 12-song selection, the first two definitely mirroring Sunday's set, Sété placed at number 4, followed by an earlier song about FGM called Boloko. I found an Italian TV performance of Feeling Good from last month and I've also included a live version of set closer Anisou from 2019, nine and a half minutes of sheer joy.

 

1) Tolon (ft. Yemi Alade) (2023)

2) Somaw (ft. Angie Stone) (2023)

3) Mousso (2011)

4) Sété (2023)

5) Boloko (2011)

6) Save It (2022)

7) Bonya (2018)

8) Feeling Good (Live @ Propaganda Live, LA7 TV, Italy) (Cover of Nina Simone) (2024)

9) An Ka Bin (2022)

10) Kokoro (2018)

11) Nsera (ft. Damon Albarn) (2023)

12) Anisou (Live @ Afrikafestival, Hertme, Netherlands) (2019) 

 

Bonya (Respect) (51:04) (KF) (Mega)

 

If you're hungry for more and don't mind shaky handheld cams, then here's Fatoumata's full show at the Bristol Beacon on 6th February 2024, courtesy of jungleboy. Enjoy!