Album Notes

Mezcal Jazz Unit & Shantu

Following their first meeting during the Nigerian Festival of Kano, the Kamfest 2008, french jazz group Mezcal Jazz Unit and traditional hausa group Shantu met again in
Kano for a join project of musical creation.
This creation must be seen as a real bridge between the two cultures via both authentic and peaceful exchanges, through music.
Two cultures, two countries,one music!

Mezcal Jazz Unit, whose identty is maintained by regular confrontation with musical groups from all horizons, is one of the rare groups capable of engaging in artistic collaborations so smooth and fluid that they appear spontaneous.
Their quartet is based on the clearly established principle of openness, allowing for a countinuous invitation of "jazz" and "non jazz" artists.

Shantu draw his inspiration from every day life, aware of the important role music plays in hausa society, where they often bring popular aspirations before an enlarged audience. Consequently, they celebrate, turn by turn, the big and the small events. To give rythm to their words, they sit right on the ground close to one another in a crescent, tapping long and strange hollowed out and
decorated calabashes called "shantus".
In their songs, the tone of the voice, in accordance with the themes and the target, conserves its natural accent.

Yet the two groups drink from the same spring of melodies, sometimes simple sometimes sophisticated, fragrance of past songs, melodies of yesterday.