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Kalamu ya Salaam's information blog

| Posted Tuesday, September 4, 2007

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Youssour N’dour – Return to Goree

 

Written by Shirlene Alusa-Brown

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Youssou N’dour travels back to Goree Island and traces the steps of the slaves and their music as they journeyed to the west. He explores how their journey helped to shape jazz and gospel music and traces their movement through some of the music centers in the United States and Europe. He travels from Atlanta to New Orleans, New York to Bordeaux and Luxembourg, and works with many different artists and musicians to document the styles that developed in jazz and gospel. Pyeng Threadgill, Ernie Hammes, and Idris Muhammed are some of the names that come together to help piece this story . Punctuated by beautiful music both by Youssou N’dour and other artists, this documentary weaves a beautiful tale of lives that have overcome their circumstances to provide music that can help us transcend to a place full of joy and victory. You can view the trailer below.
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VIDEO/DVD: RETURN TO GORÉE, WITH YOUSSOU N’DOUR

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Return to Gorée, directed by Pierre Yves Borgeaud, 2007 (New York: ArtMattan Productions, 2007), DVD.

via official website:

“Retour à Gorée” raconte le périple du chanteur africain Youssou N’Dour sur les traces des esclaves noirs et de la musique qu’ils ont inventée : le jazz. Son défi : rapporter en Afrique un répertoire de jazz et le chanter à Gorée, l’île symbole de la traite négrière, en hommage aux victimes de l’esclavage. Guidé dans sa quête par le pianiste Moncef Genoud, Youssou N’Dour parcourt les Etats-Unis et l’Europe. Accompagnés par des musiciens d’exception, ils croisent de nombreuses personnalités, et créent, au fil des rencontres, des concerts et des discussions sur l’esclavage, une musique qui transcende les cultures.
D’Atlanta à New Orléans, de New York à Dakar en passant par le Luxembourg, les chansons se transforment, s’imprègnent de jazz et de gospel. Mais déjà le jour du retour en Afrique approche et beaucoup reste à faire afin d’être prêt pour le concert final…

The musical road movie, Return to Gorée, tells of African singer Youssou N’Dour’s epic journey following the trail left by slaves and by the jazz music they invented. Youssou N’Dour’s challenge is to bring back to Africa a jazz repertoire and to sing those tunes in Goree, the island that today symbolizes the slave trade and stands to commemorate its victims. Guided in his mission by the pianist Moncef Genoud, Youssou N’Dour travels across the United States of America and Europe. Accompanied by some of the world’s most exceptional musicians, they meet peoples and well known figures, and create, through concerts, encounters and debates, music which transcends cultural division.
From Atlanta to New Orleans, from New York to Dakar through Luxemburg the songs are transformed, immersed in jazz and gospel. But the day of their return to Africa is fast approaching and much remains to be done to be ready for the final concert…