Sory Kandia Kouyate, the legendary West African jali (praise singer) and bandleader died suddenly in 1977, just a few years before African popular music took off internationally. He was just 44-years-old, and sadly, he's hardly mentioned these days but had he continued his pioneering career, I'm sure he would have been as famous as his compatriot Mory Kante, or other internationally renowned West African singers like Mali's Salif Keita and Senegal's Youssou N'dour.
Kouyate was born into a family of traditional jalis and storytellers in pre-independence Guinea, where his family and ancestors performed in Mande royal courts. When the country gained independence in 1958, he was a rising new singing star (and a master of the ngoni, a type of lute), and as the album liner notes say, "in the right place at the right time". His abilities were noted by President Sekou Toure, who saw the young man as a musical and cultural ambassador for the new Guinea. He performed at state functions and even represented Guinea at the United Nations. As a result, he was known as "La Voix De la Revolution" ("Voice of the Revolution").
The UK-based Stern's label has released a series of double CD compilations on several key African musicians like the Congo's Franco, each one impeccably researched with beautifully illustrated extensive liner notes. The label released a compilation on Kouyate, Sory Kandia Kouyate: La Voix De La Revolution in 2012.
There were two sides to Kouyate's music: traditional praise-singing based acoustic styles and modern popular styles with a dance band. The two CDs showcase Kouyate's music from haunting epic tales to Latin-based popular songs.
Vinyl collectors know Kouyate from his recordings of traditional epic Mande stories in the early sixties, which he recorded with some of the finest musicians of the time. Some of these recordings, such as the stirring Sakhodougou, are included in the album. CD 2 features the recordings he made with Trio de Musique Traditionelle Africaine, which included Sidiki Diabaté on kora (he was the father of the current kora master Toumani Diabate) and Djeli Sory Kouyaté on balafon (widely regarded as the greatest player of this wooden xylophone).
One of the standout acoustic songs, Nina, is a beautiful love song that introduces the idea of marriage for love, as opposed to an arranged marriage, which was the norm. The song would prove to be the inspiration for a standard West African song (covered by everybody), Diaraby (My Love). It is also uncanny how so many West African singers sound like Kouyate; listening to his soaring vocals, you can hear the same phrasing in Salif Keita's singing, too.
And for those fans of West African dance bands from the sixties and seventies, then the first CD is a real treat. The tracks featured showcase tunes he recorded with the state-sponsored Ensemble National "Djoliba" and CD 1 features his work with Ensemble National "Djoliba" and Keletigui et ses Tambourinis. This more commercial work was released on 7-inch singles and many of the songs became big hits during this period. He toured extensively with both bands across Africa and even performed behind the Iron Curtain in Communist bloc countries.
There are so many standouts on CD 1, from the spellbinding opening track N'na with its soaring vocals and driving guitar, every bit as good as anything produced by other Guinean bands of the time like Bembeya Jazz, to funky Conakry and the rumba-based dance floor filler Tinkisso. Absolutely brilliant.
Sory Kandia Koyate never lived to see African popular music surge to worldwide popularity. He never got to make fancy productions in Paris, nor did he get to enjoy the summer festival circuits, and perhaps these are the reasons why he's not so well known. Stern's are to be congratulated for releasing this compilation and reminding everyone of this forgotten musical treasure. I urge all fans of African music to make sure they get this essential double album and enjoy one of West Africa's greatest singers. You won't be disappointed.
This columnist can be contacted at clewley.john@gmail.com.
