N'goni report from Mali: July 22, 2014 /  by Leni Stern

I can't believe how lucky I am!!!

I arrived in Bamako last night and went straight to Bassekou and Ami's house in the Bankoni district of Bamako. Haidera the great immam, fixed up all the roads, so unlike last year, the rainy season storms had not washed out the way up the hill.

Bassekou showed me 3 new scales on his 4-string n'gonis. He says they are the old way of playing like his father used to do...songs from the 17th century when Mali was a thriving kingdom. I recorded three new songs. His mother Yagare was in great spirits and started singing, like she used to with Bassekou's father. I heard the beginnings of the blues right there in Bassekou's courtyard.

I am still mystified about the tunings. Bassekou's father played the n'goni ba that's hanging in the living room. It has 5 strings and is tuned a minor third below the 4 string jelly n'goni. I had my tuner with me last night in an attempt to get to the bottom of the tuning mystery. From what I know today it is best to look at it like our altered tunings, there's one for every song. Boy am I glad that I don't have to pull the leather frets up and down since I installed fender tuners on my n'gonis.

Ami had prepared a big fried fish with noodles, american style. Men and women ate separately, on two sides of the courtyard with the tree in the middle. I loved being surrounded by all the children and their two new little cats... no mice in this house! I was very happy that I succeeded in convincing Ami that the danger from mice and rats around all these little kids was far greater than the evil spirits that could pose as cats, as people here believe.

All about n'goni! My upcoming trip to Mali... /  by Leni Stern

I'll be traveling to Mali next week for a personal musical vacation, and it's all about my new favorite instrument, the n'goni...

The body of my n'goni is cut out of ebony. Sometimes even the neck is made from ebony, but since that's a very heavy wood, sometimes the neck is made from a lighter red wood. My favorite n'goni ba has a large ebony body and a red wood neck. The strings are traditionally attached with leathers strips, but I changed it to regular guitar tuning pegs which makes it much easier to play with western instruments and stay in tune. The n'goni has three playing strings and three resonator strings tuned D, the D up the octave, E, A, E up the octave, F# and a high A.  The high strings can be tuned as you like, but the playing strings are tuned D, E, A for the most common scale. There are four basic scales and they have the same notes as our scales but the way they are played in West Africa is a little different, with emphasis in different places. The jelly n'goni is tuned F, G, and C, a minor third above the n'goni ba. Bassekou Kouyate's father played all the n'gonis but his favorite was the n'goni ba.

Wha , the n'goni maker lives up the hill from Bassekou's house in the Bankoni District of Bamako. I plan to have him make 2 n'gonis for me, one in E one in C, the same as Bassekou, small ebony n'gonis with high strings. Maybe I'll string one of them with harp strings to be a little easier on my hands than the normal fishing line used for strings.

I want to spend two weeks just playing n'goni, not performing and recording like i usually do!  That's my idea of a vacation.

From one desert to another... /  by Leni Stern

The desert landscape of the US Southwest is one of my favorite places.  I love the big sky and the colorful sunsets, the strange plants and the spicy tacos.  It always feels like a vacation when I have a show out west, and I feel lucky when opportunities come up that bring me there.  I'm so excited to be invited to Austin, Texas by Eric Johnson and my husband Mike to add some n'goni and some vocals to their upcoming duo album on Concord Records.  Last month I worked on three songs with them, and we'll see what this week has in store for me on today's trip.  I'm glad all those many hours of practice on the n'goni paid off...

...which will bring me to my other desert home of West Africa.  After Texas and its spicy Texmex cuisine, my tastebuds will have a jolt enjoying the Senegalese food I've come to love so much when I visit Dakar next week.  My bandmates Alioune Faye and Mamadou Ba are both from Senegal and show me a wonderful time whenever we travel to their homeland.  I'm excited to be returning to the great club Just 4 You next weekend.  A far trip from Austin but just as hip and full of spice and open skies. 

New Tour Dates Out West /  by Leni Stern

Hello Western States!  I can't wait to bring my trio back your way for a five-city mini tour to some of my favorite cities.  I hope you'll make a note of the dates, or better yet, sign up for my Western States mailing list and I'll remind you when I'm coming through.  Be well until I see you in May!  Love, Leni

An honorary Brazilian! /  by Leni Stern

It has been such a joy to join the ensembles of Sergio Galvao and Amanda Ruzza these past few months.  I have always loved being a sidewoman, but I often have a very full plate with my own project.  I'm so glad I made room for my favorite Brazilians!  Please come check out their music at these upcoming shows.

Sérgio Galvão Group @ Blue Note, NY
Friday, March 7th at midnight!

FEATURING:
Sérgio Galvão, sax
Amanda Ruzza, bass
Leni Stern, guitar
Alex Nolan, guitar
Mauricio Zottarelli, drums

Amanda Ruzza Group @ Shapeshifter Lab, Brooklyn
Wednesday, March 12th at 8:15p

FEATURING:

Amanda Ruzza – bass
Mauricio Zottarelli – drums
Alex Nolan – guitar
Leni Stern – guitar
Sérgio Galvão – sax

Sérgio Galvão Group @ Silvana, Harlem, NY
Wednesday, March 19th

 

Sidewoman Alert! /  by Leni Stern

It is always such a pleasure to be invited to perform the music of other great local artists, and I'm very happy to have some upcoming shows to tell you about:

Sérgio Galvão CD RELEASE SHOW!
February 11th 8:30pm
Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street, NYC

Shane Theriot Band
February 15th 8pm
Silvana, 300 W. 116th Street, NYC

Amanda Ruzza and Sérgio Galvão Band
March 1st
WhyNot Jazz Cafe, 14 Christopher St, NYC

March 12th 8pm
Shapeshifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn

Heading to NAMM 2014! (and Oakland) /  by Leni Stern

Hello California!  I'm heading to NAMM with dear friends and colleagues for some special shows, and I hope to see you there.  I can't wait to check out all the new gear on display and meet some new artists.

 

Thursday, January 23rd 8pm
Amanda Ruzza Group (featuring Leni Stern)
NAMM Show Bass Bash

Friday, January 24th 4pm
Leni Stern
NAMM Show Gruv Gear Booth Showcase

Sunday, January 26th 9pm
Sergio Galvao (featuring Leni Stern)
Duende, Oakland, CA

New CD - Jelell - out now! /  by Leni Stern

We are pleased to announce the release of
Leni Stern's new CD, Jelell!
It is available starting today on cdbaby!

Jelell! This Wolof expression means something along the lines of “Take it!” or “Grab it!” or “Seize the moment,” but, like so many of the world’s great untranslatable words, carries a richer, deeper, contextual meaning. It’s that contextual core, that powerful frame of reference, that drives this album, Leni Stern’s 20th full-length release and her deepest foray into African music yet.

Leni Stern trio feature on WBUR - live radio performance /  by Leni Stern

Mali’s troubles began last year. A military coup destabilized the country, which gave rise to a rebellion in the north of the country. Tuareg rebels saw their uprising mutate into an Islamist infiltration. Al-Qaida-controlled groups now rule over an area in northern Mali the size of France.

They have forbidden unwed men and women from mixing in public. They’ve banned smoking and television. And in a country famous for its deeply influential singers and guitarists, Islamists have now banned music in much of Mali.

Jazz musician Leni Stern was living Mali’s capital city of Bamako when the chaos erupted. She could have left. But she stayed. And continued recording tracks for her new album, “Smoke, No Fire”.

Stern isn’t just any guitarist. She’s widely considered “The First Lady” of jazz guitar. She won the Gibson Female Jazz Guitarist of the year award — for five years straight. Stern’s talent, however, is diverse. She studied film scoring at Berklee College of Music and has invoked the sounds of India, New Orleans, Kenya and the Cheyenne nation in her music.