| World Blues, World Jazz |
Those who have followed the career of this excellent guitarist/composer and arranger will not be surprised by the excellence of this album. We remember his early jazz albums recorded in the USA (Cross Over and Time to Feel) that showcased his artistic qualities, which have since also seduced great artists such as Marcus Miller, Oumou Sangaré, Salif Keta… and the list could almost go on like a phone book.
Since this promising start to his career, Herve Samb has drawn on his African roots to offer us a jazz/world music called “jazz Sabar,” inspired and inspiring with his Terranga Band. Thanks to his collaboration with musicians from the country, especially the great singer Omar Pene and his percussionist Alioune Seck, he has been able to access the intricacies of sabar, a popular art with scholarly implications.
Proof of a constant search for balance between tradition and experimentation, he uses the unique harmony of Sereer voices in Niane and draws inspiration from a sonata by Bach. It is undoubtedly on this track that Herve’s talent resonates the most and is most remarkable. The guest artists on Jolof (GËM SA BOP – Alpha Dieng) sublime the whole, and beyond the fact that this album is danceable, it is a true pleasure to the ear, with tracks that take us on a journey from one to the next, and that after several listens, reveal magnificent arrangements.
With Jolof, it is also an artistic continuation of his album Terranga, in which Herve Samb manages to captivate and fascinate us with an architectural construction that the late Joe Zawinul would certainly have applauded. A music without borders, friendly and a beautiful artistic feat that deserves recognition. This is how the editors of Paris-Move and Bayou Blue Radio have classified this album in the category of “Essentials.”
Thierry Docmac
Correspondent in USA
Bayou Blue News – Bayou Blue Radio – Paris-Move
PARIS-MOVE, March 18th 2023
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