African Guitar Summit a victory at Junos

[XXPANTHAXX]

By NORMAN OTIS RICHMOND

One of the greatest victories for Canadian Black Music took
place at the 34th Annual Juno Awards in Winnipeg.

This year's winner of the World Music Album of the Year was
African Guitar Summit (on CBC Records). African Guitar Summit
features a Pan African cast of characters from Ghana to
Madagascar. The CD features the Mighty Popo (Burundi/Rwanda),
Alpha YaYa Diallo and Naby Camara (Guinea), Pa Joe, Theo
Boakye and Kofi Ackah (Ghana), Adam Solomon (Kenya),
Madagascar Slim and Donné Robert (Madagascar).

The history of the guitar is perhaps one of the best examples
of "globalization" and the ongoing "feedback loop" of musical
influences between the African Motherland and the Diaspora.
One of the most popular forms of Congolese music is Soukous,
which is guitar driven.

I can never forget interviewing the great Congolese lead
guitarist Diblo Dibala and asking him if he'd ever heard the
music of Jimi Hendrix. I heard the phone drop and then the
laughter begin. "We used to have battles every Sunday in
Kinshasa to see who could play like Jimi," Diblo said.

In the Academy Award-winning film, When We Were Kings,
Philippe Wynne of the Spinners was in total control of his
Congolese audience. It must be pointed out that before Wynne
replaced G.C. Cameron in the Spinners he spent time in Europe
playing with a band from Liberia. There are more examples of
the cultural unity of African people; however, in this brief
article there is not enough space to catalogue them.

Canadian Black music was put on the backburner for decades.
It must never be forgotten that the great Oscar Peterson, one
of the finest pianist of all time, was signed by Euro-
American Norman Granz to an American deal.

Harrison Kennedy, as a member of the Detroit-based Chairmen
of the Board, was the first African Canadian to sell a
million records with the song, "Give Me Just A Little More
Time". The song was recorded for Holland/Dozier/Holland's
Invictus Records, a Detroit-based label.

Canadians Deborah Cox and Glenn Lewis were forced to leave
the land of their birth to be signed by a record label.

It even took pressure to get Black music categories in the
Juno awards. I wrote the following in an April 2002 edition
of Share: "The Black Music Association/Toronto Chapter
(BMA/TC) was in the forefront of getting Black music
categories into the Juno Awards. The BMA/TC lobbied the
Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS)
beginning in 1984 and submitted a brief on February 7, 1985.
The brief said: 'The Toronto Chapter of the Black Music
Association (BMA) is respectfully requesting that this
esteemed body include Reggae, Calypso and Rhythm 'n' Blues
awards in the 1985 Junos.'

"The Junos did create two new categories in the 1985 awards.
Rhythm'n'Blues/Soul and Reggae/Calypso awards were awarded
beginning that year. There was no separate Calypso Award
created. The BMA/TC protested over this issue. We picketed in
front of the O'Keefe Centre (now the Hummingbird Centre).

"The BMA/TC still believes in the Pan-African approach. We
once again call on CARAS to respect calypso and soca - the
music of the Eastern Caribbean. The international success of
Caribana should also be taken into consideration by CARAS.
All forms of Black music must be respected and protected."

Since then, calypso and soca are receiving more airplay from
stations besides CKLN-FM 88.1, CIUT-FM 89.5, CHRY-FM 102.1
and CHIN-AM 1540. Jai Ojah Maharaj is no longer the only
person playing calypso and soca on the airwaves; FLOW 93.5
has a two-hour soca show every Sunday and Ellsworth James'
The Cook Up airs six days a week on CMR 101.3. However,
calypso and soca players and fans are still demanding a
separate award for Calypso/Soca.

Several programmers from community radio stations have
complained about not being serviced by CBC Records. They have
pointed out that there are African and African-based music
programs with a history of playing artists like the Mighty
Popo, Alpha YaYa Diallo, Naby Camara, Pa Joe, Theo Boakye,
Kofi Ackah, Adam Solomon, Madagascar Slim and Donné Robert.
Right-wing elements in this country have accused the CBC of
being too left-wing, but my advice to CBC is "don't get left".

Toronto-based journalist and radio producer Norman (Otis)
Richmond can be heard on Diasporic Music, Thursdays, 8 p.m.-
10 p.m., Saturday Morning Live, Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1 p. m.
and From a Different Perspective, Sundays, 6-6:30 p.m. on
CKLN-FM 88.1 and on the internet at http://www.ckln.fm . He
can be reached by phone at 416-595-5068 or by e-mail at
norman@ckln.fm.