Easing us in with vibrant and joyous saxophone, and fusing the soundscape with kora and guitar, the scene is set for the first song from Voyagers‘ debut album, Chasing Light.
We are hypnotized by the bright kora on Today Is a New Day. In case you didn’t know, the kora is a stringed instrument used extensively in West Africa. In conjunction with the sax, the frequency has us mesmerized and transported.
The second track is called Solole and featured a more immersive sound with contributed vocals singing “solole”. The tune has a warmer frequency and we are still mesmerized by the kora!
New York-based acoustic trio Voyagers have created groovy magic with the series of traditional-hybrid African & contemporary African-inspired jazz compositions. Interestingly, there are no drums featured, which is unique and lends itself to a more immersive experience as we are intertwined with changing tempos!
Voyagers is comprised of Yacouba Sissoko (pictured above) who is the maestro playing kora from Mali, Austrian saxophonist Edith Lettner, and American guitarist Banning Eyre — three world-class musicians who each have their own established musical careers and are bringing their skills together to create something super unique.
Waiting For Spring is the third track and really does convey the sense of anticipation and urgency waiting for spring to arrive! We love the spontaneity in the track and how the tempo changes and how the band vibe off of each other sonically.
The fourth track on the record is more melancholic and enchanting and we are obsessed. Raise Your Voice features intricate finger work and a ska punk energy on the saxophone that is truly transcendental.
Madagascar opens on the guitar before expanding in construct and delivering a very warm and optimistic listener experience. The sixth track is Danama and opens with detailed kora giving an almost Asian vibe. As much as the roots of the record are African, there are elements of world music brought to life throughout the album. Danama also features brief vocals.
For a little background on the individual artists, Yacouba is a kora musician in the Griot tradition from the renowned Sissoko family in Mali, while Lettner is a jazz musician and a veteran collaborator with several West African musicians, both in Austria and Senegal. Eyre has a long history of forays into African guitar and is a senior producer for public radio’s Afropop Worldwide.
Danama has a more spiritual energy, as the name means, “seeker of truth and wisdom”. It’s also a great song to truly show the versatility of the sax. Yacouba sings about confidence and trust, noting that just because someone talks beautifully and dresses perfectly does not mean they are a good person.
We then experience Kinkiliba which means the “health tree” and the French import kinkeliba and call it “tisane de longue vie” or infusion of long life. We can feel the healing energy from this track!
On Lamban we experience more experimental guitar before the track expands to include the other creators. The sax performance at the end of the song is truly out of this world.
Since first meeting in New York in 2013, the trio has been honing their unique sound and performing together to the delight of audiences whenever all three were in town at the same time. They limited their performances to smaller, intimate NYC jazz and world-music venues such as Farafina, Barbes, and Silvana where people “came for the music and not the hype”.
In two days in February, 2020, they recorded all the tracks for Chasing Light and began to make plans for branching out, but were held back by the pandemic, so just as well that is easing!
Yaa Amponsah is the ninth track on the record and although it featured similar territories, it feels expansive in mood and we have smiles on our faces from the personality delivered with the sax. We love the fusion between folky American fingerstyle guitar and Mande technique from Mali.
The tenth track is playful and dramatic, and called Fouta. This might be one of the “bassiest” tracks on the record from a guitar perspective, but fused with the kora gives a sense of multi-dimensionality.
Finally, we experience Cheri, which features detailed kora fused with guitar, followed by the emergence of the saxophone. As an outro track, it truly leaves us satisfied from the wider experience of the record and ties together all the nuanced featured in the first ten tracks to create a cohesive final experience of Chasing Light.
If you are in New York, Voyagers are hosting an event at Soapbox Gallery, 636 Dean Street, (Bet. Carlton & Vanderbilt), Brooklyn, NY tonight! We have added Raise Your Voice to our New Music Spotlight playlist!