Momo Le Doyen

The Guinea-born saxophonist, singer and composer, who died in 2003 at the age of 77, was one of Africa’s greatest jazzmen. His widest exposure probably came posthumously when his recording ‘Toko’ was included in the film The Last King of Scotland, but after he had been belatedly discovered playing in the Guinea state orchestra in the early 90s, he contributed widely to African-made films such as 1993’s L'ENoir and 2001’s Circus Baobab. This compilation collects together ten of his film compositions.

Influenced by John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman, his sax playing has a mellow, easy lilt and his love of American jazz is heard plainly on ‘Afro Blue’, a wonderful interpretation of a Mongo Santamaria tune made famous by Coltrane. Momo’s version, however, is rooted deeply in Guinean musical tradition. Instead of the conventional instrumentation of a standard American jazz sextet, his sublime sax playing soars over a rhythmic sound-bed of balafon, kora, djembe and wooden flute. The same trad instruments are deployed throughout and, unlike most film music, there’s no polish or artifice: the performances sound spontaneous and real, as if the images they soundtracked were conceived to accompany the music, rather than vice versa. The only real complaint is that the antique and weathered patina of Momo’s splendid voice – pitched somewhere between Louis Armstrong and Tom Waits – is heard on only three tracks.