Will Holshousers doing great work with Regina Carter. Malagasy accordionists like Régis Gizavo are among my favourites in the world.
We did an episode of Accordion Noir radio a few years ago that (over-) ambitiously tried to touch on accordion traditions all around Africa. Im certainly no expert so its only a start
Heres a short radio ad for the show:
http://accordionnoir.org/drupal/node/78
And the actual episode: AccNoir-2008-04-11, Pan-African Accordion
http://accordionnoir.org/drupal/node/85
The playlist was:
Artist - Song - Album (year) - Country - Contact info if we have it.
Boubacar Traoré – Kanou – Kongo Magni 2005 – Mali (w/Régis Gizavo, acc from Madagascar) – http://www.worldvillagemusic.com
Geliya Debese – Mamtshawe (1965) – Squashbox: Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa Concertina, 1930-1965 – South Africa – Dreadfully out of print; David M. sent us this, thanks David!
Bonga – mulemba xangola – Bonga Live (2004) – Angola / France (Francisco (Fusica) André, acc) –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonga_(musician)
Bolia We Ndenge – Bosamba Ndeke – Congotronics 2 (2005) – Congo –
http://www.congotronics.com/ [See below for donation info: ]
Bonga – praca – Bonga Live 2004 – Angola, Africa / Paris, France
Grupo Ferro Gaita – Fundo Baxo – The Rough Guide To The Music Of Cape Verde – Cape Verde –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funan á
Hossam Ramzy – Habibi Baladi, We Zay El Amar (My beloved is Baladi, and is as beautiful as a full moon) – El Amar The Moon (2000) – Egypt – Mohsen Allaam on rockin belly-dance micro-tuned acc. –
http://www.hossamramzy.com/
George William Aingo – Tarkwa Na Abosu (1927) – Global Accordion: Early Recordings – Ghana, West Africa (Ive got a lot to learn here, but Aingo wasnt the acc player.)
Sudanda – Zul Sudani (myspace mix) – Demo (2007) – Darfur, Sudan / Vancouver, BC, Canada –
http://www.myspace.com/sudanda
Wafir – Lluvia – Nilo Azul – Sudan –
http://wafir.calabashmusic.com/ [Calabash Music is like a non-profit iTunes where your money really goes to artists. They trying to set up micro-credit support for musicians around the world. Pretty cool work, worth supporting!]
Oguta Bobo with his accordion – Nelson Owuo – Rujina Kalando (1998?) – Kenya – Luo Accordion/Concertina (I dont know much about this record, the lyrics are supposed to be really funny.)
Ikhwani Safaa Musical Club – Zinduna – Zanzibar 01 • 1905-2005 • Cent ans de Taarab à Zanzibar – Zanzibar (The oldest band in Africa, 100 years!)
Régis Gizavo/Louis Mhlanga/David Mirandon – Zvinoshamisa – Stories (2006) – Madagascar, Zimbabwe/South Africa, France –
http://regisgizavo.calabashmusic.com/
(and yes, it was a fund-raiser, but we already gave away the Régis Gizavo CD!)
