Experience the fiery spirit of Gambian kora player Jally Kebba Susso, live at Dalston Curve Garden with support from Ese & the Vooduu People.
JALLY KEBBA SUSSO
Jally Kebba Susso is a UK-based Gambian kora player and he's come to shake things up.
In West African culture, the kora is the traditional harp of the griot. The griot plays a key part by bringing together the skills of a historian, musician, storyteller and diplomat to steer the community and its leadership to a better future. You can only be born a griot, inheritance being the only path. And Jally Kebba plays from a background of 74 generations of musical heritage.
EARLY GRIOT INFLUENCES
Raised in a household of musicians, Jally Kebba was exposed to incredible musicianship from a very early age. He learnt to play under the guidance of his father the late Bully Suso, a very well-respected kora player and his elder brothers. By 13 he was touring internationally across West Africa, Belgium, Holland and UK. This early exposure and inherent ambition led Jally to his mission:
TO EXPAND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE GRIOT TRADITION WHILST KEEPING ITS HEART AND SOUL INTACT
After settling to London in 2002, Jally’s musical horizons widened. He started arranging music combining jazz, rock, blues and Afro-funk. He formed his band Manding Sabu – the essence of Manding – in 2007.
RELEASES
He honed his own sound over years of experimentation on the London underground and has released two albums of original compositions – Banjul-London (2017) and Malaye Warr (2012).
AFRICAN FUNK JAZZ FUSION
This is a new sound for the West African harp. Jally Kebba skillfully blends the traditional repertoire into his own heady jazz concoction that is immediately accessible and uplifting and yet filled with nuances and intoxicating rhythmical layers that give the music depth and intrigue. His songs, sung in Mandinka, call for unity and togetherness. They are songs of praise and love and are a timely call for togetherness and solidarity, palpable to all language speakers.
WHAT TO EXPECT LIVE
Expect an electric stage show. With ease and confidence, this band connects. Precision, speed and a merciless energy characterise their performance style making them solid crowd-pullers.
PAST SHOWS
The band have gigged extensively venues and festivals across the UK including:
Royal Albert Hall, Elgar Rooms · Jazz Cafe · Cheltenham Jazz Festival · Shambala Festival · Wilderness Festival · Symphony Hall, Birmingham · Hackney Proms · Union Chapel – London African Music Festival · Wychwood Festival · OIOW Festival · Rich Mix · All Points East Festival · Diaraby Jamm Festival, Denmark · Secret Garden Party Festival · Passing Clouds – Strings on Fire (residency) · The Stables, Milton Keynes · Chapter Arts Centre, Bath · School of Oriental & African Studies University · Elderflower Fields Festival · Green Note, London · The Canteen, Bristol · The Troubadour, London · Globe, Hay · London Culture Mile · Elefest · Canada Water Cultural Space · Pop Brixton · Cock & Bull Festival, Bath · Camberwell Fair, London · Albert Schloss, Manchester · Sotheby’s · African Drum Village, Angus · Kings Place · National Portrait Gallery
Jally plays solo kora; with his band Manding Sabu; and as a member of live African dance music group, Afriquoi.
ESE & THE VOODUU PEOPLE
Born and raised in Bermondsey, London, Ese Okorodudu is a professional musician, singer, songwriter and performer currently based in the East of the capital.
Graduating from London’s most demanding performing arts school – the streets, as a busker – Ese (vocals, guitar) is backed by the incendiary Vooduu People, a floating pool of some of London’s best musicians: Destra Orsheena “Sheena” Ross on backing vocals; ex-Noisette Pharoah Russell (drums); Indigo Pearce (bass) and keyboardist/arranger Jackson Baird. Other regulars include percussionist Noel Dossavi.
A gifted songwriter, Ese and her band are inspired by an eclectic range of legends, from Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone to Led Zeppelin via The Isley Brothers, Bowie, Gil Scott-Heron, Prince and Skunk Anansie.
A killer live act, Ese and her band are signed to South London-based independent label Quadrafon Music Industries and have recorded a number of digital singles, two digital live albums, a CD EP and two full-length albums (released on vinyl and CD).
Work on the aforesaid debut album, “Up In Smoke”, with producer/Gearbox Records founder Darrel Sheinman at the all-analogue controls, was completed in October 2018 and released by Quadrafon in May 2019. As well as being recorded on tape, the album was also mastered for vinyl by Caspar Sutton-Jones at Gearbox using vintage analogue equipment. Pressed by Optimal in Germany on 180g clear virgin vinyl, the limited edition (528 copies), hand-numbered LP was packaged in a high quality gatefold sleeve featuring photographs by legendary Mancunian lensman Kevin Cummins [Joy Division, Smiths, New Order, Stone Roses, Bowie, Bjork]. A CD version, with a bonus track and different front cover, was released as a limited edition (500 copies) “LP replica” later that month.
This was followed up in August 2019 with the “Peace Of Mind” video single; and in October with “The Secret Session”, a digital live album, highlighting Ese as a solo artist, recorded at an intimate London club date. In January 2020, Quadrafon released the third in the “Bootleg Series” of digital only-albums – excerpts from a high-powered performance recorded in Walthamstow.
Just prior to the pandemic lockdown, a gig at London’s famous Troubadour club was recorded professionally; in June a single culled from this recording, a seriously funky version of Plan B’s 2010 hit “She Said” was released, with an album entitled “Mercury In Retrograde”, containing the entire show, was released on 21st September (vinyl followed in April 2021).
Writing for the third album is already complete, and recording will commence at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios later this year. Ese and her collaborators are also working on a home-recorded EP (provisionally titled “Tainted Love”); a preview of this was released in February 2022 – a superb cover of Gil Scott-Heron’s “Home Is Where The Hatred Is” featuring Ese, Jackson and top UK jazz flautist Gareth Lockrane. This was followed in June 2022 by another single, “Colours”
In 2019, Ese and Sheena joined the legendary Alabama 3 as backing singers, appearing on their latest album “Step 13”, as well as appearing live with the band since 2019. The “Vooduu Sistaz” have toured solo and with Alabama 3 in the spring of 2022, with festival dates to follow in the summer of 2022.
Ese will perform solo on the night.
PLEASE NOTE that this is an outdoor event which will go ahead regardless of the weather. Please bring appropriate clothing including waterproofs if rain is forecast.