Balimaya Project

The great fascination of the young British jazz community clearly has to do with its variety, multi-perspectivity and diversity: without the musicians who draw from their different migrant realities and incorporate diverse traditions from the countries of their parents or grandparents into their work, the English jazz renaissance would be inconceivable and only half as interesting. London is the powerhouse of this feverish scene whose protagonists are interconnected. In ever new, changing constellations, they embody this awakening. This is not least true of the Balimaya Project, which emerged in 2019. The explicit aim of this collective is to connect instrumentalists with African roots living in the UK with their roots - above all musically, of course. Percussionist Yahael Camara Onono is the driving force behind this group in big band format. The son of a Nigerian and a Senegalese has been part of the London jazz and global music scene for a long time and has brought together several like-minded people to form a supergroup - such as trombonist Joe Bristow from the Seed Ensemble or keyboardist Yohan Kebede from Kokoroko. The pieces on the first album "Wolo So" are carried by an impressively multi-layered rhythm section, plus kora, balafon and wind instruments. There are references to the traditional Mande music of West Africa, but also to Afrobeat, which has become popular in Lagos. Funk, jazz and folkloristic elements flow together organically. The Balimaya Project - the word Balimaya means kinship - is, according to Camara Onono, the realisation of the dream "to bring together my experiences of cultural diaspora and new home. And to use music, and especially the djembe, as a link." Sometimes dreams come true.