Black Ivory Soul by Angelique Kidjo

Monday, July 29, 2024

Black Ivory Soul

Angelique Kidjo

Sometimes I’d browse the international section of the library’s music section. I discovered several artists there, and deepened my knowledge of others.

I was familiar with Angelique Kidjo from her cover of “Summertime” on a compilation CD called Amazing Grace. I bought it during my Ani DiFranco collecting years, as her version of Amazing Grace began the CD.

There are a lot of good songs on there-a unique version of “Calling All Angels” by Jane Siberry is a standout. It also has, PM Dawn, The Cranberries, Automatic Baby (a side project/collaboration by members of REM and U2), Bob Marley, and a beautiful instrumental song by someone I’d never heard of but should probably explore. But the nearly all a capella layered vocals of Kidjo’s “Summertime” always intrigued me the most.

So, off to the library I went one day and came across a couple of her CDs. They’ve been in my collection and usually come out and play in the summertime, coincidentally.

Black Ivory Soul has a first with Dave Matthews, and I guess Questlove plays drums on the record, which I only learned this morning by reading the Apple Music album summary before posting this. Of the album it mentions its “samba beats, African rhythms and instruments, and her rich, powerful voice [come together] to produce a smooth and sophisticated set of songs.”

I’d tell you to check it out at your local library, but so many of them have moved to digital only collections of mainstream mediocrity that it’s a little harder now to find niche or more obscure artists. So, check iTunes or Amazon and I’m sure you’ll find a few samples there. (But don’t buy books from Amazon. It’s a whole thing.)

Refavela is my favorite song on here.