Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band are a contemporary group from Burkina Faso. Coming from Bobo-Dioulasso, the group is steeped in the Mandingue musical traditions of their ancestral legacy. The enigmatic lead singer Baba Commandant (Mamadou Sanou) is an original and eccentric character who is well respected in the Burkinabé musical community. Baba Commandant plays the ngoni, the instrument of the Donso (the traditional hunters in this region of Burkina Faso and Mali). His audience comprises multiple generations and strata of Burkinabé society; he accordingly adapts his repertoire to his surroundings, which range from cabaret Sundays in Bobo-Dioulasso to the sound systems of Ouagadougou. Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band are a formidable force steeped in Ouagadougou’s DIY underground musical culture.
Baba Commandant at the Kennedy Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHse1OFLco4
TaxiCab Verses, a staggering collective of Athens, GA and Ghana based musicians, will celebrate its album release October 7, in support of Burkina Faso’s very own Baba Commandant & Mandigo Band. TaxiCab Verses is re-releasing its one and only studio LP, Is What You Make It via the New West Records imprint Strolling Bones Records on October 20th. TaxiCab Verses have blossomed into a stunning and colorful mosaic that only continues to ripen. Is What You Make It, the group’s singular studio effort, not only memorializes the unique amalgam of circumstances which led to the unlikely collaboration; it also bridges the gap between two very different, yet distinctly beautiful worlds. An exuberant collection of danceable numbers and emotive instrumental arrangements, Is What You Make It is a one of a kind heirloom; a relic of deep love, respect, and understanding that transcends time and place.
Taxi Cab Verses- story behind the music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y50qJDCRv44
This night is not to be missed!
$21 in advance, $26 day of the show.