blues

By Don Wilcock

Two days before he plays Carnegie Hall and a week after doing several
dates with renowned banjo player Bela Fleck’s Africa Project, African
artist Bassekou Kouyate and his band Ngoni Ba will play Troy’s
Sanctuary for Independent Media next Wednesday, March 24.

Bassekou plays an ngoni, a small stringed instrument that is an
ancestor of the banjo. The ngoni was the instrument of choice for the
griots (teachers) of Malli since ancient times and was threatened with
extinction until Bassekou stood up, put a strap on it and began
playing it with the same abandon as an American rocker.

His innovative updating of this instrument can be heard on his Speak
Fula CD just released by SubPop, the label that introduced Nirvana,
Soundgarden and Mudhoney to the world.

Bassekou is a world music darling who has jammed with Bono from U2,
Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal. This unusual date at the intimate
Sanctuary in Troy is part of a 47-date North American tour running
through April.

By Don Wilcock

Joe Abbey is a white, self-proclaimed agnostic who also happens to be the lead guitarist in an otherwise all African American regional gospel group, The Heavenly Echoes.

Far from being the infidel in a field of holy men, Abbey fits right in with his band of proselytizers who struggle like all of us to keep their act together in a world gone mad. Joe also is a middle-aged RPI graduate who loves the Rolling Stones and fronts a blues band called JV and The Cutters.

It is Joe’s blues band that will share the stage with Thomasina Winslow and Mother Judge on Friday as part of Troy’s Sanctuary for Independent Media’s Live From Lock One concert series.

Live From Lock One is a series featuring some of the most creative artists on the local live music scene. Each performance is recorded with a studio audience and streamed live over the internet. This season we'll be focusing on some of the region's great blues talents, hosted by JV & The Cutters. Featured singers include Thomasina Winslow (left) and Mother Judge (right).