Awaiting the return last night in Chicoutimi, at the International festival of Rhythms of the world. One of the festivals big names in 2006, the Ghanaian Selasee, performed on the large stage that was in the shade of the Cathedral of Chicoutimi.
It was beautiful and large crowd last year and the result was identical this year. As well a second singer, Nii his compatriot, also brought on his best. This one brought highlife, a clean musical style from Africa in which the guitar occupies a central function. It is alert, very “clean”, and the remainder draws from l’ orchestra which is spread in an eminently festive register. One is with the antipodes of the blues, tormented reflexions, which corresponds with the spirit of the impressed crowd which had come to attend the performance.
At the beginning of program, it was Nii who occupied more space. As he was the only one that was able to express himself in French. This jovial man did not delay in relating to the crowd; a beautiful complicity with the public. Giant debonnaire with an earthy voice, without effort performed one of the title songs that appear on his new album, “Highlife Times”, while the guitar and the keyboards took height. Others of the same style followed, then the singer made a nice connection with festival goers by adding a little French in the composition which, as he announced, was intended for the men. “Now, I am Saguenean”, as Nii announced at the end of the song. His happiness gave pleasure, just like that of Selasee, where he began from where he left off in 2006. Of course, the young man could not help but to be where he left off with his success, ” Run”, a reggae “light”. Very jumpy, the trumpet and the saxophone held company with him while he carried out dance steps. Neither does he not make in the morisite, he likes to try experiments, as on this ambitious composition of the reggae and the jazz worked together. This ode with the song included some briefs passages “Autumn Leaves”, the english version of “Feuilles mortes”.
At the end in the concert, the crowd vigorously requested an encore, but as the duet had stretched the rubber band to the maximum, satisfaction could not be obtained. Those which have crossed the street Racine at that moment, it was 21:30, quickly noticed for the first time, that there were tons of people everywhere, even far away from the two large stages. For those that found themselves on the corner of rue Labrecque, precisely, the pianist Yoel Diaz had fenced the evening in with the company of the formation of Team Timba. For the sixth time, the Cuban music was in honor on the “Main”, but the elegance of these arrangements had “tranche” on the preceding propositions. A dozen musicians were with Diaz, which has performed a song written “for the festival, for Chicoutimi”. All that was missing was a little feet movement on the stage, but the evening was still young.
Caption: Selasee and Nii have delivered a remarkable performance, last evening, in Chicoutimi. No moroseness, just the songs on which to hang a smile