Raagatrio Bio - The Raaga Trio

Raaga Trio
Andreas Fulgosi
Andra Kouyaté
Baba Konaté
Guillaume Lagger
guitar
n’goni - bass n'goni
percussions
harmonica
When jazz mixes with manding music
The Raaga Trio plays a subtle fusion of jazz and traditional West-African music.
Made up of four members from different backgrounds, the trio’s music pulls you into deep
currents of Mandingue feeling, experimental and Jazzy sounds and sweeps you away with
the magnificent n’goni and bass n’goni of Andra Kouyaté, the excellent rhythms of the
percussionist Baba Konaté, the harmonious, electric tones of Andreas Fulgosi’s superb guitar
work and the powerful dubs on harmonica by Guillaume Lagger.
This music is an invitation to embark on a journey through sound, and a chance to
experience its positivism, its humanity and its generosity.
Raaga Trio’s first album has just been recorded by Renaud Millet-Lacombe at Hush Sound
Studio in Switzerland. It will be released early 2010.
Listen without moderation
Booking
Booking Africa
Chetna Kapacee
antehc productions
Tel: + 44 (0) 79 58 25 12 91
Email: [email protected]
www.antehc.co.uk
Adnane Ferdjioui
Tel: + 213 (0) 770 58 15 17
Email: [email protected]
www.myspace.com/adnaneferdjioui
Promotion / Websites
www.myspace.com/raagatrio
Renée Missel
Tel: + 31 (0) 314 34 17 72
Email: [email protected]
www.youtube.com/user/raagatrio
www.facebook.com/pages/Raaga-Trio/
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Andreas Fulgosi
Andra Kouyaté
Guitar, electronics, composer, teacher
Italy, 1967
Bass n’goni, n’goni, tama, composer
Mali, 1973
Andreas Fulgosi’s playing reveals a slightly saturated sound,
accompanied by syncopated phrasing. He does not hesitate to play
with melodic and harmonic tensions, giving a unique texture to his
compositions, in which he delights in exploiting the sounds and
universe of the electric guitar.
Originally a classical cello player before fully devoting himself to
the guitar, he deepens his knowledge of improvisation at the AMR
(an association for the encouragement of improvised music),
Geneva. After attending the Montreux Jazz School and the Bern
Jazz School, he studies with Mick Goodrick, John Scofield and
Wolfgang Muthspiel.
In the early 90’s he forms his first band as a leader, the BLT
quartet (modern jazz).
His collaboration with German ballerina and choreographer Sibylla
Klein on the shows "Empty Space", "Wo gehen die
geträumten Träume", "Shocking Life" and "Tauko", a Finnish
exhibition, for which he writes and interprets the music, widens
the range of his musical approach.
Andreas Fulgosi forms the By-Spiel project, eager to make full
use of the world of sounds in jazz music through the use of
traditional instruments from different cultures as well as modern
instruments mixed with electronics. Thus, he creates a multitude
of contrasts within his original compositions. He releases «
Looking Outside », recorded with German avant-gardes
trombone player Albert Mangelsdorff and «Madagascar« ,
following the encounter with Madagascan percussionist Olombelo
Ricky.
The other ensembles he leads and composes for are also part of
his musical environment : "Blood on the Floor" (compositions
inspired by the music of the Sex Pistols) and the quartet "Dusty
Road"(guitar, pedal steel, b, drums, modal electric jazz). He is
also member of the Fulgosi-Perez quintet (modern jazz), Red
Brick Organic trio (guit, Hammond B3, dms).
"VAL AFUMO" (live improvisation on the movies of American
cineast Mike Ballou), "Stringvox" duo and "Palatone" (live
poetry and music).
Andreas Fulgosi has performed with: Lars Lindvall (tp) –
Olombelo Ricky (perc) – Albert Mangelsdorff (tb) – JeanJacques Pedretti (tb) – François Gallixe (b) – Pia Karaspuro
(dance) – Maurice Magnoni (sax, cl) – Ali Farka Touré (voc,
guit) – Bassekou Kouyaté (n'goni) – Ba Cissoko (kora) – Neba
Solo (balaphon) – Michel Bastet (p) – Serge Zaug (sax) – Bill
Holden (tp) – Patrice Moret (b) – Luigi Galati (dm) – Jérôme
Regard (b) – Samuel Blaser (tb) – Nicola Orioli (cl,sax) – Pascal
Schaer (tb) – Lionel Friedli (dm) – Philippe Aerts (b) – Marcelo
Aguirre (dm) – Peter Morrens (complete artist) – Juha
Valkeapää (vocal perform) – Claudia Urio (voc).
He played in the Berlin Jazzfest, the Prague Jazz Festival, the
Munich Jazz Festival, the Görlitz Jazz Festival, the Ouagadougou
Jazz Festival, the Saint-Louis Jazz Festival (Senegal), the Guinea
Jazz Festival , the Accra Jazz Nights (Ghana), the Savona Jazz
Festival (Italiy) and Jazz Festival Madajazzcar (Madagascar).
His various performances have taken him to Germany, The Czech
Republic, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana, Guinea, Madagascar,
Italy, Finland, Belgium, France and Mali.
www.myspace.com/andreasfulgosi
www.by-spiel.com
Andra Kouyaté plays an instrument of his own invention, the bass
n’goni, a sort of “African Double-Bass”. This new instrument has
enabled him to develop a new style, far removed from the n’goni.
He possesses exceptional musical and rhythmical skills and draws
his inspiration from his roots in Mandingue tradition.
Andra plays the n’goni, the bass n’goni and the tama with
masterful assurance. His exceptional creativity leaves the listener
in no doubt that these traditional instruments offer unbounded
possibilities for the exploration of diverse musical currents.
Andra Kouyaté’s approach to his music, his qualities of sensitivity,
charisma and his power and dexterity all go to make up a
remarkable, multi-talented musician.
Andra Kouyaté was born into a family of griot musicians and began
studying the n’goni at the age of seven under the guidance of his
father Moustapha Kouyaté in Garana (Mali). In 1989 he moved
to Bamako and played with a number of local groups, including
Badema National.
By 1997 Andra Kouyaté integrates two groups, one of Fantani
Touré, with whom he recorded the album N’TIN NAARI and
subsequently toured, and the group of Rokia Traoré, with whom
he participated on three albums "MOUNEÏSSA", "WANITA" and
"BOWMBOI" and toured internationally for eight years. During the
same period Andra Kouyaté played regularly with Toumani
Diabaté and Ali Farka Touré.
In 2005 Andra Kouyaté decides to create "NGONI BA" with his
brother Bassekou Kouyaté. Together they record an album
“SEGU BLUE” and set off on a hugely successful tour through
Europe.
In 2007, still on tour with Bassekou Kouyaté, he participates on
Habib Koité’s album AFRIKI and also on the album RED EARTH
released by Dee Dee Bridgewater.
Christophe Minck makes a successful appeal on him for the
album KIRIKOU ET KARABA, under the direction of Michel Ocelot.
He also contributes to the albums SEYA by Oumou Sangaré and
ALU MAYE by Leni Stern.
Later in 2007 Andra Kouyaté, Andreas Fulgosi and Baba Konaté
decide to form a new group called RAAGA TRIO, which is a exciting
meeting between traditional West African music and jazz.
www.andrakouyate.com
www.myspace.com/andrakouyate
Baba Konaté
Guillaume Lagger
Percussionist, teacher, craftsman
Burkina Faso, 1974
Harmonica, Percussions
Switzerland, 1977
Baba Konaté comes from a long line of griots (West African poets
and praise singers) whose music is passed on from father to son.
He began learning percussion at the age of 5 and his talent and
passion for music soon earned him a position as a soloist within his
family.
At the age of 18 he founded the Badema troop, comprising
percussionists, dancers and singers. At the same time he was
trained as an artistic director by the teachers Alassaned Kongo and
Yaya Konaté from the Ministry of Arts and Culture of Burkina Faso.
Today, he divides his time between concerts in Africa and Europe,
participating in National Culture Weeks, teaching and making
percussion instruments (djembé, tama, dumdum and balafon)
Babe Konaté is a musician with vision who strives to bring his
musical traditions into contact with the rest of the world. This spirit
of engagement has brought him together with many musicians
from other cultures and these encounters have driven him to
develop his music and his ideas: an endeavour which has naturally
brought him to work with jazz, blues or modern music groups.
Baba Konaté has been director of Troupe Badema since its
creation in 1992. The troop regularly gives concerts and performs
at festivals and cultural competitions in Burkina Faso. In 2004 he
toured France with his group, giving a number of percussion
workshops (Musique du Bac, J B de la Salle )
Since 2002, he has been a sideman in the By-Spiel Project and
has joined them on tour in Switzerland, Burkina Faso, Senegal and
Madagascar.
He's also played with the group at a number of festival: Jazz à
Ouaga (Burkina Faso), Saint-Louis Jazz festival (Senegal), French
Cultural Centre in Dakar, Just4U in Dakar (Senegal), Madajazzcar
(Madagascar), Jazz at L'A.M.R, Geneva (Switzerland).
In his work teaching musical language at the Conservatoire de
Genève, he has joined forces with a professor there, Pascal
Schaer, to develop teaching materials (sheet music, CD, etc) to
help students learn rhythm, tempo and group work.
He has performed with Pascal Schaer's quartet at numerous
concerts in Switzerland and France, notably at the Altdorf
(Lucerne) and Lafi Bala (Chambéry) international festivals. He is
also a sideman of the Swiss group NK.
In 2005 he has continued to run teacher workshops at the
Conservatoire de Genève as also runs children's workshops on
musical awareness and elementary and advanced music in Burkina
Faso and Geneva.
Baba Konaté has performed with:
Olombelo Ricky (perc) – Maurice Magnoni (saxophone) - Lars
Lindvall - (trumpet) - Cyril Moulas (guitar) - Michel Wintch (piano)
- Béatrice Graf (drums) – Andreas Fulgosi (guitar) – Luigi Galati
(drums) – Pascal Schaer (trombone) –
Nicola Orioli (clarinet), Bassekou Kouyaté (n'goni,) Neba Solo
(balafon).
www.myspace.com/troupebadema
www.by-spiel.com
Born in 1977 in Geneva, Guillaume Lagger received in 1989 a
small diatonic harmonica as a Christmas gift from his oncle Jacky
Lagger, a singer and multi instrumentalist from the Wallis Kanton.
Drawn by the blues Guillaume learns to blow this instrument
almost totally by himself and soon accompanies his brother Greg
who got a guitar somewhat earlier. After a while the group Reggal
is born with Christian Fürst on bass guitar. The group plays folk
blues songs composed by Greg who sings in English. Between
1994 and 2000 they perfom at bars and small scenes and record
two albums “The Reggal Harmonica” in 1995 and “Trio” in 1999.
Next to Reggal, up until today, Guillaume plays occasionally with
Jacky Lagger on albums and on stage. Like e.g. at the Paléo
Festival de Nyon with the show “Les Terrestres Extras”.
Still exploring his instrument Guillaume also continues to play
together with a variety of musicians and in 1997 he meets a group
that will gradually become more important to him: L’Ironie du
Son.
Also during that time he discovers a new passion: percussion.
Some time after acquiring his first set of congas he meets L’Ironie
du Son backstage at L’Undertown in Geneva.
That is the start of a long collaboration in several stages and line
ups. Little by little Guillaume takes his harmonica out of its pocket
till he finally plays it exclusively from the 2003 album “Nuage Fou”.
L’Ironie du Son is still his “main” groupe where he has developed a
style of his own after four albums and more than one hundred
concerts.
Guillaume Lagger has been extending his musical activities during
the same time to collaborations with the Senegalese singer Kara
from 1999 to 2002, Imago, Jewish music with jazz influences from
2004 - 2005, with singer Mr. Peach from 2006 - 2007 and
Vagalatschk, exploring Balkan and klezmer sounds from 2006 2008.
Since the beginning of 2006 he accompanies the Piere
Lautomne, a singer from Geneva. During 2006 the first solo album
of Jonas, the rapper of L’Ironie du Son sees its release and a
group containing 8 Suisse and African musicians is formed around
him for a tour. Guillaume is one of them, mostely on percussion
and sometimes on harmonica.
At the end of 2007 Guillaume joins the group Andra Bachleda &
The Technicolor Orchestra and since the summer of 2008 he
plays with Canadian bluesman Marc-André Léger who has
setttled in Genéva recently.
2009 has another musical adventure starting for Guillaume as he
teams up with Raaga Trio for the recording of their first album.
www.myspace.com/guillaumelagger
www.myspace.com/lironieduson
www.lironieduson.ch