It is with
great sadness that I learnt of the death of Talibé Traoré,
lead trumpeter of the orchestra Keletigui et ses Tambourinis.
Talibé died when his motorcycle was hit by a taxi at
approximately 1am on
5 February 2010
in Conakry. The driver of the taxi left the scene and
was never found.
Talibé was one of the last great trumpeters of his generation.
He began his career with the group Télé Jazz, the
regional orchestra of
Télimélé in the Fouta Djallon highlands. In
the early 1970s he was recruited into the
orchestra Keletigui et ses Tambourinis and is
featured on their
Syliphone vinyl release Le Rétour
(SLP 55). His solo on "Maderi"
from the LP illustrates his skills and creativity, and drew wide acclaim.
In the Tambourinis he played alongside Kerfala Camara,
Keletigui Traoré and Momo Wandel Soumah, the creme de la creme of brass
musicians, during the period when the Tambourinis boasted the best (and the biggest) brass
section in Guinea. In later
years he also played with
the excellent orchestra Kaloum Star.
Talibé's
trumpet tone was bright and strident, it
really grabbed
your attention. He was in his late 50s when I last
saw him play in 2008, and he was still a
powerful trumpeter
whose
solos made the group swing.
Talibé provided a lot of assistance with the preparation
of the Stern's
"Keletigui et ses Tambourinis
-
The Syliphone years" CD, supplying
translations for the songs and histories of the group. He was so very
friendly and helpful, a gentleman, and his early death
was
a tragedy. I
offer my sincere condolences to his friends and family.
Video of
Talibé
playing with Keletigui et ses Tambourinis can be viewed on YouTube. His
solo on "Temedi" is outstanding -
https://youtu.be/vjGASgFeHqw
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