Tunde Jegede - Heritage (2014)

It is 15 years since I last recorded a solo kora album. Why has it been so long since my first? Who can say, but there have been many contributing factors.

My first solo kora album, Still Moment. was originally released as Malian Royal Court Music and through it I wanted to establish a new aesthetic for the music and the instrument. In truth the music I was playing on this first recording was a contemporary face of African Classical Music but at the time there was no context or musical landscape to place it within. I had to create the genre and the idiom whilst working within it, all in one move.

In Malian Royal Court Music I tried to create a balance between my contemporary compositions with several pieces from the old repertoire of the Kora but ultimately I was not satisfied with these renditions. These pieces are timeless and eternal, in much the same way as the music of Bach, and I did not feel fully ready to do them justice. This is what led to the re-issue of the album as Still Moment for I knew at some point I would come back to the traditional repertoire.

Years passed during which I ended up performing and recording with some of the finest African singers and musicians, including Oumou Sangaré, Kasse Mady Diabaté and the legendary Kora player, Toumani Diabaté. I had also honed my music leading the African Classical Music Ensemble where I delved deeper into the repertoire of both Manding and Wassolou Music, as well as working with artists from different traditions all over the world.

Finally, I came to Labeaume, a small cobbled village in the South of France to record a solo cello album, centred around the Bach Suites, in the beautiful village church. By chance I had my Kora with me from concerts the days before in Lyon. I was hoping there may be a slim possibility of me recording some Kora during our four days in Labeaume. As it turned out the recording of the Cello album was very intense and there was no time for the Kora. The cello pieces were epic in nature and we were recording full on right up until 6pm on the final night when the producer had to leave.

And suddenly, there I was alone with the sound engineer in an empty church with a beautiful acoustic. Although we were both shattered by the week we couldn’t let this opportunity pass us by. We agreed to record a couple of tracks and ‘see how it goes’. The whole album was recorded between 7pm and 10pm that night and we only did two takes of each song. I don’t think I have ever felt so relaxed in front of the microphone and I played until I could play no more. I hope you enjoy this record of that night of music.