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BAABA MAAL
NATURAL SELECTIONS


The charismatic Senegalese singer Baaba Maal returned to town last Saturday night, this time leading an acoustic version of his band, Daande Lenol ("Voice of the People"), in support of his recent, acoustic-based Mi Yeewnii ("Missing You"). He began the set alone, accompanying himself on a gently picked acoustic guitar, yet even before his bandmates joined in, his powerful voice overwhelmed the PA at the Somerville Theatre. The soundman’s solution? Turn up the PA. And the reverb. And the delay. Until we could no longer hear any of the acoustic sounds being made on stage.

Why is it that musicians playing acoustic instruments are miked and amplified if they are presented as "world" or even "folk" but not if they are presented as "classical" or "early-music" performers? The lute was built to be heard in a small room, yet amplifying it for a classical concert hall is often considered a compromise. Maal, on the other hand, has a voice that could probably reach the back of an opera house without a microphone; yet he is presented compressed and limited and enhanced through a PA, even in a relatively small house like the Somerville.

Fortunately, he’s a musician comfortable with electronics, not to mention much larger stages, and his presentation did not suffer for the terrible sound. He’s always a magnificent presence, and the band — featuring his mentor, Mansour Seck, on acoustic guitar and backing vocals, and highlighting the contributions of two musicians playing traditional African stringed instruments, Kaouding Cissoko on kora and the worried-faced Barou Sall on hoddu, a dry-sounding percussive lute so small it looks impossible to play but on which he unleashed dazzling syncopated runs — created a warm, buoyantly supportive atmosphere for his melodies.

The show was also marked by the touching interchange between Maal and Seck, who is almost blind yet frequently rises out of his chair to dance with a graceful abandon. But a rare opportunity to hear these musicians performing a truly acoustic set was lost to the pumped-up volume.

Maal’s latest album is similarly frustrating: a collection of lovely songs played almost entirely on acoustic instruments and recorded mostly outdoors in Senegal . . . but produced by an English rock veteran (John Leckie) who makes sure that even the atmospheric outdoor noises are all heard larger than life. Life is big enough, as anyone watching Maal and his blind friend dance together could tell you.

BY DAMON KRUKOWSKI

Issue Date: January 24 - 31, 2002
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