Regional Sound Sampler From Africa

The notion that all African music sounds alike should be pretty well buried by now.

Increased exposure has spotlighted both vast regional differences and the existence of more meditative, acoustic styles alongside percussion-dominated dance ensembles. The variety of African music, from Guinea to Ethiopia, is the focus of this edition of “On the Offbeat,” a periodic review of roots, ethnic and non-mainstream pop music from around the world. Albums are rated on a scale of one asterisk (poor) to four (excellent).

***

SONA DIABATE

“Girls of Guinea”

Shanachie

**

BAABA MAAL

“Baayo”

Mango

Vocalist Sona Diabate is a member of one of Guinea’s foremost families of musical griots and first attracted attention with Les Amazonees de Guinea, a band of Guinean policewomen. Her first solo outing is a family affair, with lulling acoustic guitars and vocals blending to offer a refreshing take on an Islamic-influenced tradition.

Baaba Maal is a touted young griot from Mali who provides English lyric translations on “Baayo” but comes up short on the music. “Joulowo” and “Diahowo” acquire a compelling momentum but intricate arrangements prevent the other songs from matching Maal’s beautiful 1989 duet album with guitarist Mansour Seck.

** 1/2

VARIOUS ARTISTS

“Giants Of Danceband

Highlife”

Original Music

This collection features informative liner notes to complement music by three bands working in one of the most popular early pop styles developed in western Africa. The material dates from the late-’50s-to-early-’70s period and it’s fascinating to listen to the music shift from a big-band-with-horns blend shaped by indigenous elements and Cuban rumba records on E.T. Mensah’s four opening tracks. Later cuts by Ramblers International are smoother, with rhythms akin to Colombian cumbias, before the more percussive slant of Professional Uhuru takes over.

Available by mail order from Original Music, 418 Lasher Road, Tivoli, N.Y., 12583.

*** 1/2

THOMAS MAPFUMO

“Shumba: Vital Hits

of Zimbabwe”

Earthworks

*** 1/2

“Ndangariro”

Shanachie

****

“Chamunorwa”

Mango

Mapfumo’s chimurenga style adapts the mbira (thumb piano) music of his native Zimbabwe to an electric band context. It’s a magical sound--all earth and sky with gently pulsating rhythms keeping the music grounded while guitar melodies and Mapfumo’s meditative, mantra-like voice soar into the stratosphere.

“Shumba,” a collection taken from several early 1980s recordings, and “Ndangariro,” a brilliant 1984 album available for the first time here, both feature an edgy energy created by the interlocked guitar lines and horns punching in behind Mapfumo’s exhortative vocals. “Chamunorwa” is even better--Mapfumo has refined his style by smoothing out rough edges and the succession of gorgeous melodies, impeccable arrangements and soothing vocals coalesce to create deeply spiritual music.

* 1/2

ASTER AWEKE

“Kabu”

Columbia

Aweke, a transplanted Ethiopian based in Washington, is still trying to reconcile those musical cultures on her second Columbia album. “Kabu” doesn’t straitjacket Aweke into crossover formulas a la Ofra Haza but neither does it uncover a happy medium where Aweke’s trilling vocal melisma can shine. Slower pieces work best here but Aweke’s shrill voice can be grating.