Black Ivory Soul

by Angelique Kidjo

Overview

Angelique Kidjo's records have brought her plenty of acclaim, but they've tended to be very mixed -- some tracks exceptional, others remarkably ordinary. Black Ivory Soul, her exploration of the connection between her native Benin and the Bahian region in the north east of Brazil, might just be her most consistent and satisfying effort to date. She's toned down the R&B influence that peppered 1998's Oremi -- indeed, only the title cut is R&B, and that has a sweet Brazilian inflection -- and focuses instead on the job at hand. Working with talents like Carlinhos Brown and Vinicius Cantaria has obviously helped; "Tumba," for example, fairly crackles with crisp axe rhythms that drive the song along, while"Ominira" and "Afrika" makes the distance between the two continents seem very small indeed. Kidjo gets rootsier here than she has in a long time, as on her version of Gilberto Gil's "Refavela," which offers an unvarnished look -- lyrically and musically -- at the ghetto, or the more introspective "Okanbale," where the rippling kora lines falling like water through the song. Kidjo uses her trademark lush harmonies throughout the album, and she's in great voice, even content to play second fiddle to Dave Matthews on "Iwoya," where the status of the guest star (and the English language vocal) seem like a calculated move to push one of the disc's weakest tracks straight to AAA airplay. But, happily, that's the exception, not the rule; on the whole this record's heart is in art, not commerce, even tossing in a spare, loving cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Ces Petits Riens" to close things out, although it's quite out of place on the record. This time around, Kidjo seems to have followed her muse, not the money, and the results are, virtually, everything she's always promised to do, but never quite achieved before. ~ Chris Nickson

Product Details

Release Date:	03/19/2002
Label:	Columbia / Sony Music Distribution
UPC:	0696998579927

Tracks

1. Bahia
2. Iwoya
3. Olofoofo
4. Tumba
5. Black Ivory Soul
6. Refavela
7. Iemanj¿¿
8. Afirika
9. Okam Bale
10. Ominira
11. Mondjuba
12. Ces Petits Riens

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Angelique Kidjo   Primary Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Dave Matthews   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals
Dennis Collins   Vocals (Background)
Julieanne Klopotic   Violin
Bernie Worrell   Organ,Fender Rhodes
Ira Coleman   Bass (Acoustic)
Cindy Mizelle   Vocals (Background)
Michel Alibo   Bass (Electric)
Karl Berger   Conductor
Questlove   Drums
Abdou M'Boup   African Percussion
Cheik Mbaye   African Percussion
Mamadou Diabate   Kora
Vinicius Cantuaria   Guitar (Acoustic)
Romero Lubambo   Guitar (Nylon String)
Aiyb Dieng   African Percussion
Brenda White-King   Vocals (Background)
Joao (Tombo) Mota   Guitar (Electric)
Dominic Kanza   Guitar (Electric)
Curtis King   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Bill Laswell   Producer,Reproduction,Mixing Translation
Andrew Dosunmu   Stylist
Aaron Franz   Assistant Engineer
Andreas Richter   Make-Up
Gary Montalvo   Art Direction
Angelique Kidjo   Arranger,Composer
Roberto "Beco" Dranoff   Music Consultant
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Robert Musso   Engineer
Karl Berger   String Arrangements
Tommy Faragher   Composer
Gilberto Gil   Composer
Dave Darlington   Engineer
Cyrille Taillandier   Engineer,Digital Editing
Clark Germain   Engineer
Jean Hebrail   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Digital Editing
Serge Gainsbourg   Composer
John Sann   Photography
Carlinhos Brown   Composer