"Confident and charismatic, he's a dynamic performer regardless of the style of music he's playing, a smart, stirring songwriter and a remarkable vocalist," says the Wall Street Journal's review of Youssou N'Dour's show in Miami on Friday. "N'Dour's voice is stunning, elastic and powerful." The Washington Post's review of Monday's show at the Kennedy Center, titled "Star of Dakar—and the World," exclaims that N'Dour "demonstrated that his reputation as one of the world's greatest singers is not hyperbole.
When Youssou N'Dour and his Super Étoile Band performed in Miami last Friday night, the Wall Street Journal's rock and pop music critic Jim Fusilli was there. As he reported in yesterday's paper, it was clearly an experience to remember. Whether Youssou is performing mbalax, for which he first became known around the globe, or the more traditional sounds of his more recent records, the power of his music transcends. Writes Fusilli:
Confident and charismatic, he's a dynamic performer regardless of the style of music he's playing, a smart, stirring songwriter and a remarkable vocalist. Those who know him only through his contribution to Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" or his world-wide hit with Neneh Cherry, "7 Seconds," have experienced but a glimmer of his gifts ... Mr. N'Dour's voice is stunning, elastic and powerful. When he unleashed it to sustain a long, gripping tone, with the band's three percussionists working fervently underneath it, that sound thrilled.
For more from the Wall Street Journal on the Miami show and Youssou's new Nonesuch CD, Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take), visit online.wsj.com.
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On Monday, Youssou's US tour took him to Washington, DC, where he performed at the Kennedy Center. In today's Washington Post review, titled "Star of Dakar—and the World," writer Steve Kiviat reports that Youssou did so "magnificently."
N'Dour effortlessly used his multiple-octave range over the funky mbalax rhythms that have inspired him for decades, along with the northern Senegalese styles heard on his latest CD, Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take), and the Middle Eastern influences displayed on his 2004 release Egypt ... This 40-something artist demonstrated that his reputation as one of the world's greatest singers is not hyperbole.
The complete concert review can be found on washingtonpost.com.
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Tonight and tomorrow night, Youssou brings the show to New York City's Nokia Theatre for the Great African Ball, before making his way west to play the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz, California, November 28. Today's Silicon Valley Metro previews the show with an article by writer Andrew Gilbert that reports on an issue close to both Youssou and the paper's large dot-com-savvy readership—the internet. A few years back, Youssou began the non-profit Joko Project to broaden internet access in Senegal and create locally developed cultural content on the web; he is looking to launch its second phase next year.
"As one of the first African pop stars to emerge in the '80s with a truly global following," Gilbert writes, "he is well placed to spearhead the initiative. Like his music, which draws on and transforms traditional Senegalese musical forms, N'Dour envisions the internet as a way to enhance traditional aspects of West African society."
To read what Youssou had to say about the project and the traditions reflected in his music, visit metroactive.com.
