Oxford, MS. (Top40 Charts/ Hill Country Records) - Oxford, MS based Afrissippi is creating a veritable flood of excitement amongst world-blues and roots aficionados with their remarkable coalescence of north Mississippi hill country blues and their ancestral traditions from West Africa. The band features Senegalese griot Guelel Kumba telling stories from his Fulani people who are the largest tribal group in West Africa and of his own harrowing and inspiring journey that led him to Oxford; backed by a band of North Mississippi's finest;
Junior Kimbrough & R.L. Burnside apprentice Eric Deaton on guitar; drummer Charles Gates; and bassist Justin Showah; Afrissippi represents nothing less than a complete ethnomusicological journey of the blues in a single concert.
Afrissippi will be touring across the eastern U.S., Atlantic and Central Canada in support of their second album "Alliance", a follow-up to their stunning 2006 debut "Fulani Journey". Produced by Grammy-winner Jimbo Mathus at his Delta Recording Service in Como, MS and now distributed by Memphis-based Select-O-Hits; "Alliance" continues the story of Guelel Kumba, whose journey to America fortuitously led him to R.L. Burnside's house in Oxford and a 2002 jam session with Deaton and Kimbrough. Blessed by the great master, the three began an entirely new exploration of the haunting, centuries-old sonic connections between north Mississippi and West Africa - eventually joined by current bassist and manager Showah. One of America's great contemporary global blues explorers Corey Harris described "Fulani Journey' as "a high-water mark in the cultivation of the connections between American blues and its African relations." fRoots editor Ian Anderson described it as "what might have happened if Ali Farka Toure had recorded for Fat Possum."
On the opening tip, Eric Deaton will be showcasing a "tour de force" of his own. "Gonna Be Trouble Here" is an album that summons the spirits of his late mentors Burnside and Kimbrough (and in a more contemporary vein, the North Mississippi All-Stars) with its trancelike yet high-powered north Mississippi blues grooves. The Eric Deaton Trio is gearing up for a return to the Rootsway Festival in Parma, Italy this summer.
Afrissippi has been skillfully guided on its across the Southern U.S. and to festivals in Italy, Switzerland and Portugal by manager and bassist Justin Showah, who runs Oxford-based Hill Country Records. "We made Fulani Journey in a bit of a hurry, at a time when we didn't know how long Guelel would be with us in Oxford," says Showah. "Since he decided to stay, we've had fine-tune our vision. What you hear on 'Alliance' is the result of us being able to bring everyone's ideas more cohesively into the mix, with the one-day Delta recording style maintaining that sense of spontaneous energy."
In his review of "Alliance" found in the most recent issue of Living Blues, Roger Gatchet says, "Alliance feels both ancient and progressive at the same time. This album is an incredible accomplishment that should attract the attention of many award nomination committees in the months to come."
In the meantime, these blues travelers promise to attract the attention of Canadian blues, roots and world-music fans in the weeks to come!
Hill Country Records World Boogie 2008: U.S. Tour Schedule
*All dates feature Afrissippi & The Eric Deaton Trio unless otherwise noted*
Monday May 12
Portland, ME
@ Portland Empire Dine & Dance
575 Congress St.
www.portlandempire.com
8 pm, $5
Tuesday May 13
Somerville, MA
@ Johnny Ds Uptown
17 Holland St., Davis Square
www.johnnyds.com
8:30 pm, $10
Wednesday May 14
New York, NY
@ Terra Blues
149 Bleecker St.
www.terrablues.com
10:30 pm, $10
Thursday May 15
New York, NY
@ Terra Blues
149 Bleecker St.
www.terrablues.com
10:30 pm, $10
Friday May 23
Burlington, VT
@ Flynn Center for the Arts
153 Main Street
8:30 pm, $15 adv. / $20 door
www.flynncenter.org
Saturday May 24
Hartford, CT
@ Black Eyed Sally's
www.blackeyedsallys.com
9 pm, $8
Sunday May 25
Philadelphia, PA
National Fulani Convention
Tuesday May 27
Arlington, VA
@ IOTA Club & Cafe
www.iotaclubandcafe.com
8:30 pm, $12
