Abu

Senegalese virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer Abu Djigo set out to make his first album under his own name with a fine band of nine players, ranging from Malian legend Baba Sissoko contributing ngoni, guitar and vocals, to lead singer Omar Ka, drummer Afra Mussawisade, and Belgian violinist Wouter Vandenabeele. Abu had already made a name for himself touring and recording with US jazz guitarist and singer Gary Nelson, performing in concert halls across Europe, the US, Brazil and India and soaking up disparate musical influences. The focus here was on West African styles when he first went into the studio, but the magical moments conjured by Abu and his group were curtailed by his unexpected death.

He left behind an unfinished work and his friends and fellow musicians went back into the studio to complete it. The result is a rich, deep brew of ensemble sounds, redolent of West African orchestral veterans such as Orchestra Baobab, stretching out towards a rich, molasses-thick American-style blues on the likes of ‘Blues in A’ and ‘Tigent Blues’. With an array of guest singers and solo players, the album is given a deep – and deeply pleasurable – cohesiveness.