A picturesque view of American Markus James sitting among three Malian musicians on the smooth, dry yet vibrant desert sands of Timbuktu is riveting; not because of the scene, but because of what they are doing – creating inventive music.
James’ musical exploration of the Malian culture, if one could say, epitomizes the zenith of his career. Tracing back to his infatuation with blues music and the African culture as a youngster, James states:
“I grew up in the Washington, DC area and I had a very early experience when I was four years old. When my mother was taking me to a YWCA nursery school, we would go into the city, park the car and we would walk a few blocks and we passed an old blind blues singer on the street. He would be standing there with his guitar and his sun glasses and his cane over his arm. He was singing in a very entrancing kind of way and it was like with all the hustle and bustle of the street noise and sounds, I just would freeze with fascination when I saw him, I couldn’t move and we would just stand there, watching him and listening to him sing,” he recalls. “That was a very early experience which later on when I started traveling to Africa I kept thinking back to this man. It was as if that was my introduction to Africa, in some way, because he was like an angel to me, he had an angelic presence.”
He admits to having been influenced by African-American musical expressions, especially in his adolescent years. One day, he reminisces, he attended a live Lithuanian folk festival where he heard songs by Gambian griot singer, Alhaji Bai Konte, and was immediately captivated: “I had again the exact same experience I had when I was a four year old listening to the man singing on the street, where it was as if all other sounds completely vanished and all I could hear and feel was this man’s music.”
Eventually James embarked on a trip to Gambia in search of this man who had evoked such enthralling childhood memories; but it was too late, Alhaji Bai Konte had passed away. He studied with another great kora player, Jali Nyama Suso, nonetheless.
“I love blues music and rock music. When I heard the music of Ali Farka Toure, he played traditional Malian music on the guitar in such a way that many people could experience very clearly the connection between what we call country blues music and traditional African music,” he recalls his experience with one of the continent’s most internationally known musicians.
“Because Mali is in many ways the motherload of musical cultures, there are so many different cultures there, but it is known for masterful string music. So to be there in Timbuktu playing with Songhai, Bambara and Tamashek musicians and creating new music partly in English and partly in Sonrai, where the rhythm is the same and the musical notes are the same but we’re sort of trading who’s singing what and who’s playing what…and they’re responding to that lyrically, that has been really certainly, the high point for me my whole musical life.”
By this James refers to his well-received documentary, Timbuktoubab; a revealing film that features Malian musicians, Solo Sidibe (kamele n’goni, vocals), Hassi Sate (njarka violin, vocals), and Hamma Sankare (calabash, vocals).
“The film has been a privilege for me to be able to introduce many people here in America to certain aspects of Malian culture, who otherwise wouldn’t have come across it. Because of the circles that it’s going out in, the film is a chance for some of my friends there to talk in their own language briefly about their instrument or their tradition,” James explains.
The four talented musicians communicate in French and English throughout the documentary explaining lyrics and history behind the traditional stories in their songs.
And the meaning behind the title of the film James explains as: “‘Toubab’ in Francophone West Africa is an expression meaning ‘white person,’ and Timbuktu is obviously the place.”
His intentions had been to present something new and informative that might have been in the American audience, but it seems to be stirring something more powerful and beautiful in the very people from whom he extracted it.
“I have an African friend in Washington DC, he’s a great musician, and one time he called me up and he said, ‘Markus I’m here in the house and there are seven of us here from all around Mali and other West African countries. We’ve just been watching your documentary on PBS here and everyone wants to say something to you,’ James laughs as he recounts the moment.
“To feel that something you’ve done is reminding people of the incredible richness of African culture, it’s a privilege. I never for a minute lose sight of my feelings; for me to be able to play music with some of these [musicians], to me some of the musicians I played with in Mali, they’re just amazing, and I know in their culture they’re highly regarded as musicians but people somewhat take them for granted,” he states. “But to me they’re right up there with the greatest musicians and composers of all times, and of course, they’re keeping alive traditions which go back hundreds and hundreds of years.”
The film narrates the history of “takamba,” Mali’s traditional dance and rhythm through performances, while exploring each other’s lyrics. Though sung in different languages they are able to understand each other’s tune and create pieces harmoniously.
“It’s not just a pure field recording of traditional music; it’s a coming together of cultures,” James explains the Timbuktoubab further. “I’ve always felt that the implicit message of this film is that people from different backgrounds can work together and make something beautiful.”
Timbuktoubab is available nationally and can be purchased via Amazon.