Category — Passions

This song from the Buena Vista Social Club was released in 1997. It was delightful then and still thrilling now. The members of the Club may be slowly disappearing but they leave behind indelible cosmic footprints.

Bliss.

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If I could write a poem
I would write about you
I would say your heart is like a flower
That blooms in a desolate wasteland
Beautiful and natural
To bring joy and never-ending bliss

If I could sing a song
I would sing about you
Amazing and extraordinary
I would sing of love
Enduring and intense
Sparkling eyes and selfless acts

If I could paint a picture
I would paint a picture of you
You would be a shimmering star
Shining bright in the dark of night
My guiding light
When my way was lost

If I could write a book
I would write about you
Passionate and splendid
I would say you are my sister
My comrade and my friend
Dearly loved by many
Sorely missed by them and by me

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This exhibition is currently taking place at the Musée Quai Branly in Paris and covers magazines, letters, cartoons, photographs, paintings and others types of expression. The exhibition features some of the most revered names of jazz, among them, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Some of the paintings and photographs as featured here are rather magnificent.

The painting at the top is Jazz (Variante) by Fernand Leger. The 2nd is Homage to Duke, Bessie & Louis by Romare Howard Bearden. I find these and the 1927 Josephine Baker (I must blog about Josephine Baker one day) poster quite lovely.

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Every once in a while, when you have been very good or have been very lucky, a piece of art, a musical composition or a poem that is mind blowing comes your way. When this happens, all you can do is sit and wonder and nod your head to say: without art, we are nothing, without music, we are nothing, without love, we are nothing. (My personal mantra and my reason for being).

Released by Sterns Africa in 2007, African Virtouses – The Classic Guinean Guitar Group, consists of music recorded in the 70s and 80s by Guinean guitar maestros – the Diabate Brothers – Papa, Sekou, Sire and Abdoulaye, yet I can’t get over how incredibly fresh and contemporary the music sounds.

Traditionally, Guinean musical instruments are the the kora, balafon (xylophone), and koni (lute). The aptly named, African Virtuoses in their own inimitable style, include the guitar as their means of creative expression. Here and there, one can hear flashes of Cuban, flamenco and Django Reinhardt musical influences. The overarching elegance is typically and distinctively Guinean however.

African Virtouses, I bow down to your greatness.

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I love the way some of his songs are prefixed by rap-like storytelling. Listening to ‘I Stand Accused’, approximately 10 minutes long, always makes me smile. The pathos!

‘By the time I get to Phoenix’ is also long. Approximately, 18 minutes long.

Although very similar, Isaac Hayes’s voice is not as rich and as expressive as Barry White’s. When exploring his discography however, it is clear to see that his music is very influential.

Isaac Hayes IS a soul music icon.

R.I.P.

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Over the last few months, what we have seen of Africans (mainly Kenyans and occasionally Zimbabweans) on the BBC have been people in extreme situations. The images have either been of people dying or dead, people running away from vigilante groups or the police, people demonstrating or people (and especially and worryingly, children) looting and burning. Sometimes the images have been of people doing all the above, all at the same time.

Watching the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency based in Botswana on the BBC the other night was a relief as the story featured Africans getting on with their daily lives. Fancy that. The drama/comedy, gentle and funny, featured the utterly lovely Jill Scott as Mma Ramotswe, the detective and was lovingly directed by Anthony Minghella who unfortunately died a few weeks ago.

Credit must also go to the cinematographer who managed to capture the heat, dust, bright, vivid colours and the complex beauty of Africa. It was almost possible to taste this dust and feel the heat in far away (and wintry) London.

The story dealt with difficult issues including domestic violence and superstition from Mma Ramotswe’s point of view and here, the issue was all about Jill Scott’s amazing talent and the strength she brought to the character. Jill Scott had the Botswanian accent down to perfection and looked the part (being of ‘traditional build’). She was authentic and everything focused around her (the camera certainly loves her).

My only gripe was Jill Scott only sung once. She should have sung around the house, while driving, etc. Any excuse to hear Jill Scott sing.

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I am extremely pleased to announce that the next International Carnival of Pozitivities will be taking place on this blog in April. The International Carnival of Pozitivities is a blog carnival for people living with HIV/AIDS around the world. This includes every human being on the planet Earth. The aim of this initiative is to provide an international forum for interaction among people living with HIV/AIDS and for their caregivers, family and/or friends or those who are involved in the fight to end this worldwide pandemic. Read more about the Carnival here.

The guidelines for participation are quite straightforward and can be found here. To take part, please register your entry here. You can also nominate blog entries by other authors for this Carnival but their consent must be obtained first. I will also be on the lookout for posts that are suitable for the Carnival.

The most recent Carnival (2.9) is currently taking place at Creampuff’s blog.

The Carnival is maintained by Ron Hudson – a great person and a friend.

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I learned two things upon arriving in the UK many moons ago. First, the name Enid was pronounced ‘EEnid’ and not ‘EHnid’ as I had been pronouncing it ever since I begun reading
Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books. The other was that ginger beer, always a mystery to my young mind, i.e. how could children be allowed to drink beer, was no different from tangawizi soda.

When growing I really loved the Famous Five Series. I was captivated by the fantastic tales of extraordinary dog, Timmy, brothers Julian and Dick, younger sister Anne and cousin Georgina, known as George and who was a tomboy. Although I had a mild crush on Julian, I think I loved George the most – she was just so daring, tough and not scared of anyone – just what a typical 9 year old like me wanted to be like. The Famous Five adventures were always the same and revolved around the children tackling a gang of hapless criminals (smugglers, kidnappers, etc) during the school holidays. The fact that the villains were always swarthy and that Anne always did the washing-up led to accusations of racism and sexism decades after the books had been written.

And of course, no story was complete without lashings and lashings of ginger beer and exclamations of ‘gosh!’ and ‘golly!’

It is all change now and the Famous Five have received a makeover. A new series has been written which consists of George’s daughter, Joyti, who is Anglo-Indian (ha, who’d have thought George would end up married), Max, Julian’s son, Allie, who is Californian (??) and Anne’s daughter and Dylan the son of Dick. And Timmy, of course but no more ginger beer, apparently, the ginger beer and the cream buns from the tuck shop have been replaced by replaced by mobile phones, laptops, iPods and pizza.

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