Playing times: 34', 41', 43', 40', 42'
Recording date: 1971; remaster release: 2023
Si Daty ould Abba (1924-2019) is basically considered the progenitor of modern Mauritanian music, including moving it onto radio (& then to the next generations...), although he obviously comes from a long line (of Griot musicians out in the desert). Here he appears with his first wife, Mounina mint Eide from another Griot line. However, these recordings were not released during that era, meaning there was really nothing for me to hear when I was undertaking my project. (There were apparently some 45 rpms released from an earlier session, in 1967, but I was not familiar.)
Readers might also be aware that I included basically nothing from West Africa in that survey. Already for the 1950s & 60s recordings (when ethnomusicology basically got started...), there was a tremendous amount of Western influence audible from these syncretic traditions, so that wasn't what I was wanting to hear. But that isn't true for these musicians from far outside the cities & more Westernized areas. Mauritania apparently claims some sort of connection to Yemen, and the style of both singing & call-response does suggest Yemeni music here for me (although that probably means that this style was once more widespread across the Sahara...). It also recalls old-school US jazz singing, so that's rather shocking (as discussions seem to suggest that Sidaty wouldn't really have heard Western music at this point, or e.g. Louis Armstrong...). These unique documents, a series of 5 extended suites, are thus particularly striking.
The recordings from 1971, never released, were remastered by Radio Martiko (from the Boussiphone label) for Bandcamp. Sound is much improved (& the older version, finally released apparently in 1987 by the original African label, is also available on streaming).
To purchasing information for this disc.
To World Music page.
T. M. McComb