For his sixth album 'New African Orleans', bass guitarist and composer Alune Wade explores the multiple junctions between his native West African rhythms, the Afrobeat and juju rhythms from Lagos and the brass band repertoire immortalised in New Orleans. "I'm exploring a world that goes from my roots to the lost branches on the other side of the Atlantic," explains the musician from Senegal. He has whittled down around 50 compositions - both original and standards - to a dozen which Alune recorded in Paris, Dakar, Lagos and New Orleans. "The idea first came to me during the Jazz a Goree festival I organized back in 2014," he explains. "It had me reflect on the notion of reversing the musical trip most people take from the United States to the African continent. I wanted to set out westward and begin a musical conversation with the best artists, both in Nigeria and the US."

To achieve this, Wade has invited top artists from both sides of the Atlantic, including the Nigerian talking drummer Olaore Muyiwa Ayandeji, the percussionist Weedie Braimah and the jazz drummer Herlin Riley from New Orleans. The musical inspirations are equally transatlantic, ranging from Dr. John to Manu Dibango and Charlie Parker. But the 45-year-old also pays homage to his father who was a brass band star in his native Senegal back in the Sixties.

Artists

Alune Wade (bass), Cédric Duchemann (keyboards), Alix Goffic (drums), Harry Ahonlonsou (saxophone), Camille Passeri (trumpet), Victor Ademofe (trombone, trumpet, baritone saxophone), Kirk Joseph (sousaphone), Herlin Riley (drums), Weedie Braimah (percussion), Kyle A. Roussel (piano), Stephen Walker (trombone), Bobby Spark (keyboards), Somi (vocals), Julia Sarr (vocals), Fatou Wade (vocals)