27 May 2025 (gig)
31 May 2025
Artists such as veteran Malian musician Boubacar Traoré don’t pass through Berlin nearly enough.
Under the vaulted red brick ceilings of this intimate Kreuzberg venue, tonight’s show is a rare chance for fans of Mandingo music and desert blues to catch the singer, songwriter and self-taught guitarist live.
It’s been a busy month for 83-year-old Traoré, with shows in Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland and France, where he once lived, working on construction sites to support his family.
Traoré’s music take us on a journey to Mali and Mississippi through his extensive back catalogue. Seated throughout with western guitar on his lap, Traoré is accompanied by phenomenal French harmonica player Vincent Bucher and Bamako-based Jérémie Diarra (percussion). It’s as close to perfection as live music can get, with sublime sound and lighting.
Jaw-dropping harmonica solos from Bucher, half-hidden by Gretchen’s white stone pillars and a swirling fog of stage smoke, are as Deep South blues as can be, evoking Little Walter and James Cotton. Stage right, Diarra thuds and clicks a calabash and cheerfully cajoles the tight trio’s audience into a series of call-and-response chants.
In his younger days, Traoré was nicknamed by friends as Kar Kar (the dribbler), on account of his fine footballing skills.
As he returns to Gretchen’s small stage for a short encore and this rapturous crowd chants his name, there’s relief that Traoré chose stage and studio over football pitch.
Check out his albums Mbalimaou (2015) and Dounia Tabolo (2017), as well as 2001 documentary film, Je Chanterai Pour Toi.
Photo: N’Krumah Lawson-Daku / Lusafrica
