b aaba m aal
FeaturiNG
cHEikH NdOyE | NGoNi aND Bass
ALiOu diOuf | DruMs
mASSAmBA diOP | talkiNG DruM
with the
Town Hall Ens E mbl E
STEvEN BErNSTEiN | Musical Director
LAkEciA BENjAmiN | alto sax
mArc cAry | keYs
NELS cLiNE | Guitar
cHriSTiNA cOurTiN | VioliN
mArikA HugHES | cello
SArA jAcOviNO | VioliN
jT LEWiS | DruMs
mAurO rEfOScO | percussioN
ScOTT rOBiNSON | reeDs
ricArdO rOdriguEz | Bass
mArcuS rOjAS | tuBa
BriA SkONBErg | truMpet
coVer photo: © aDriaN Boot
THE TOWN HALL 123 W 43rd st nyc
LARRY ZUCKER , Executive director
m.a. PaPPEr , Artistic director
JEFF MANN , Marketing director
BILL DEHLING ,
LEIA-LEE
the extraordinary Baaba maal, singer, guitarist and a resonant voice for africa, appears in concert at the town hall performing with the Town Hall Ensemble.
Photo: © Adrian Boot
while american audiences have heard him recently — his voice soaring in the academy award-winning soundtrack of Black Panther by swedish composer ludwig Göransson — this will be Maal’s first performance in New York city in 8 years.
For the event, he will be accompanied by the town hall ensemble directed by trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader Steven Bernstein, augmented by members of Maal’s own band on african percussion and bass.
“i am very excited to be performing with the town hall ensemble,” said Maal, discussing the one-of-a-kind program. “i love the energy that comes with a large band such as this. the mix of different instruments and styles of playing gives me a lot of freedom to experiment. i won’t say anything else now because it’s going to be a surprise!”
For Bernstein, whose ductility as a writer and player has led to collaborations with artists as disparate as phish’s vocalist and guitarist trey anastasio, trombonist roswell rudd and the Band’s late drummer levon helm, collaborating with Maal “is an incredible opportunity.”
he muses about translating the sound of the traditional kora, the delicate 21-string lute from west africa, to horns; having a Brazilian percussionist as part of the ensemble, “giving a different flavor to the music,” or expanding on Maal’s horn section sound (“it has a lot of salsa feeling, ” notes Bernstein.)
“i’ve been listening african music since i was in late high school,” he said.” this is going to be really exciting and it opens something brand new for me.”