Barbes
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
By: Becky Firesheets

Stepping into Barbes is like entering a snapshot from an exotic city’s past. Its elephant sculptures, Buddhist-inspired wall engravings, colorful tapestries and statues of mustached men combined with the shelves of single malt scotches, fine bourbons, aged wines and more creates a mysterious yet laidback atmosphere.  The opening room extends narrowly past the bar, leading to an intimate backroom covered in faded, overlapping rugs with a piano tucked along one wall and wooden tables with mismatched chairs shoved against another.   Every Wednesday, this snapshot becomes an ancient bar in Guinea as a ten-piece band wedges itself into the front of the space, sets up the djembes and guitars, saxophones and flutes, and breaks into “100% Manding music.”

At their most recent performance, The Mandingo Ambassadors started a dance party yet again with their contagiously catchy Afropop.  Despite playing every week for only a collection of tips, the band possessed a genuine energy, a sense of joyous respect for the music and its traditions.  Every member swayed as they played, emphasizing the hand drum’s complicated patterns with their feet, moving the gentle bass lines along with their hips.  Vocalist Ismael Kouyate sang intricate melodies in English, French and Mandinka with beautiful ease as he danced, interweaving his words and tones with guitarist Mamady Kouyate’s upbeat, tropical riffs.  The horn section only enhanced this tropical feel while drummer Andy Algire played cut-time fatback grooves along with the rich, earthy tones vibrating from the djembe.

While it’s easy to say The Mandingo Ambassadors have a Latin-tinge, jazzy flair or Caribbean vibe, the opposite is actually true: Latin, jazz and Caribbean music all have Manding roots.  Originating in the 13th century amongst the Manding people of Western African, this music combines elaborate, sparkling melodies with syncopated rhythms, and, almost as importantly, energetic dancing.  

Midway through the first set, a Barbes bartender announced the passing of the tip jar along with encouraging everyone to dance.  “I can’t because I’m working, but you guys have no excuse.  You should get up.  The music plays off the dancing,” she explained.  And indeed it did.  Once a few people were up on their feet, the guitar lines changed pace, matching that of the dancers and then increasing, challenging them to keep up. 

At one point, M. Kouyate rose from his chair and engaged a young woman sitting down as he swayed and played.  She stood up and quickly fell into the groove, tossing her arms side-to-side as the two faced each other and tapped in a circle around the floor.  Kouyate’s guitar became an extension of himself as he moved, rapidly popping his fingers over the strings as if they, too, were just dancing along.  The rest of the audience backed this up, dancing more vigorously and even shouting occasionally, while the band continued their never-ending, pleasant flow of music.

Whether trading the lead or playing a layered, feel-good chorus, The Mandingo Ambassadors bounced through both sets with a light, relaxed feel.  This is not to say they played loosely.  Each transition was strikingly tight, each song ended in perfect unison.  They could have played till dawn and people would have stayed dancing; time becomes nonexistent when The Mandingo Ambassadors are on stage.

Catch them every Wednesday at Barbes or stay tuned to their MySpace for other upcoming gigs.