You know that expression, "deceptively simple"? That's not a bad way to look at some of the music played by the latest guitarist in our African Guitar Gods series, Madagascar's D'Gary. Have a listen and see if you don't hear what I mean.
Taking the musical richness of Madagascar to the world
Ernest Randrianasolo, known to guitar aficionados as D'Gary, is one of the foremost interpreters of Malagasy traditional music on the guitar. He's descended from the Bara tribe, nomads who herded oxen in southern Madagascar. (That explains why some of his songs are called things like "Song of the Cowherd.")
But D'Gary's real connection to Malagasy traditional music happened when he was a teenager at, of all places, his father's funeral. As he listened to the mourners singing by his father's graveside, he heard the connection between what they sang to traditional tribal songs, and that compelled him to explore his own musical roots.
But he probably never dreamed one day he'd be one of the musicians responsible for helping the rest of the world learn about the musical richness of Madagascar.
Other guitarist greats can't believe what he does
Upon hearing what D'Gary played on his first international release, Malagasy Guitar, The Music From Madagascar, Henry Kaiser said (according to RFI), "I couldn't believe my eyes or ears when those tracks were played in front of me. If you get a guitar and sit at home trying to work out what's going on while he plays, all I can say is 'Good luck!'"
David Lindley, who worked with Kaiser on the great Malagasy compilation, A World Out of Time, simply called D'Gary "a monster guitarist!"
The music in this video is, it should be pointed out, not deceptively simple, nor for that matter deceptively complex. It just is complex. And beautiful.
As good as (or better?) than Ali Farka Touré
According to The Rough Guide to World Music: Africa and the Middle East, "many consider that he surpasses other African acoustic guitar greats such as Ali Farka Touré." No one really wants to play the "better than" game, but the truth is D'Gary is an extraordinary guitarist. Why his fame isn't at the level of someone like Touré is probably some combination of not being at the right place and the right time and, with due respect to Messrs. Kaiser and Lindley, not having a Ry Cooder in his life.
A river you never want to step out of
D'Gary's music is based not just on traditional Malagasy songs, but also shows influence of Western folk guitar styles. Still, when in full flight, the intricacy of his finger-picking style and the sheer flow of the music he creates doesn't quite sound like anything else. That's probably because he adapts melodic lines usually reserved for traditional instruments, like the valiha, a kind of harp, or the marovany, a kind of zither for the guitar. If you can get your hands on an album by Dama and D'Gary called A Long Way Home, listen to it to discover that D'Gary's music is like a river you never want to step out of.
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