From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Habib Faye
Habib Faye
Habib Faye is a bassist, keyboardist, composer and sou N’Dour album since 1984, including the acclaimed
grammy-nominated producer from Senegal. He is mostly 1994 The Guide. In addition to having years of gigging un-
known as the musical director for Youssou N’dour’s Su- der his belt, producing and touring with Super Étoile, he
per Étoile de Dakar. He is one of the most talented African has been involved in many musical projects in Senegal,
bassists of the last quarter century. working with local artists. The latest is Abdou Guité Seck,
He has been playing the bass and producing music for Wock’s former vocalist, who is now pursuing a solo ca-
Super Etoile since 1984 or earlier. He is believed to have reer. His latest album is slated for release later this year.
picked up the bass at age 13, but started his musical ex- Habib’s forte is his versatility. He grew up in an en-
ploration at age 9, thanks to his older brother, Vieux Mac vironment where music had no boundaries. His parents
Faye, who is an accomplished guitarist himself. His oth- grew up dancing Salsa and rock ‘n’ roll. He also grew up
er brothers are musicians as well. Lamine Faye is one of seeing his older brothers experimenting with jazz and
Senegal’s most popular and respected guitar players, and blues sonorities. He can virtually play any style, from the
for a long time was a member of Super Diamono, before rootsiest Mbalax (Senegal’s predominant musical style) to
he left to form his own band, Lemzo Diamono, in 1991. the grooviest Funk, not to mention Afrobeat and jazz.
Adama Faye, who died in 2005, is regarded as one of the Harmattan, the first band he founded, was one of the
pioneers of keyboard playing in Senegal. He was one of headlining acts at the 1998 edition of Saint-Louis Interna-
the founding members of Super Diamono and also played tional Jazz Festival, Senegal, one of the most prominent
keys for Super Etoile back in the 80’s. The Faye brothers jazz festivals in Africa.In recent years, Habib has been fo-
are, in many ways, very similar to the Wooten brothers, cusing on a the new Afro-jazz band he occasionally puts
although they never formed a band. together, Habib Faye Quartet. The line-up changes some-
Super Etoile is one of Africa’s best live bands, and times.
they have been traveling all over the world for nearly As far as his music philosophy is concerned, he ex-
three decades. In fact, in November 2007, music critic plains that he is not trying to compete with jazz musi-
Robert Christgau said on NPR’s All Songs Considered that cians or do pure jazz, but he tries to bring two different
he believed Youssou N’Dour’s band is the world’s best live worlds together, i.e. the richness of the African sound
band. Habib Faye cites the Amnesty International’s "Hu- and the world of jazz. He takes the blend of African music
man Rights Now" world tour in 1988 as maybe his most and jazz to a new level adding traditional African instru-
rewarding time as a musician. He says that it allowed him ments such as Kora, Sabar, Tama, and lesser-known ones.
to grow as a bassist as he got to share the stage with mu- African music being very percussion-oriented, Habib de-
sic icons, such as Peter Gabriel, Sting, Tracy Chapman, veloped a technique where he can often be heard playing
and Bruce Springsteen. It is also in the middle of that tour percussion parts on his bass. That has the effect of mak-
that the album The Lion, in which Peter Gabriel partic- ing his sound far more rhythmic and distinctive. His
ipated, was recorded. Gabriel would invite Habib to join brand of Mbalax that can be heard in most Youssou
him on other records of his own later on. N’Dour albums, especially those released on the Sene-
In 1996, Mickey Hart hired him to play bass parts on galese market, puts percussive bass playing to the fore.
his Mystery Box [1] album. Habib Faye’s resume also in- With that he gives more power to the afore-mentioned
cludes playing alongside a wide range of artists like Manu African traditional instruments. His experiments culmi-
Katche, Mokhtar Samba, Joe Zawinul, Paco Sery, Gilberto nated into the release of a live album, only available in
Gil, Chet atkins, Mark Knopfler, Branford Marsalis, Poo- Senegal, Special tribute to Jaco Pastorius, Live at "Central
gie Bell, David Sancious, Lionel Loueke, Tania St Val, Ja- Park" Dakar. You can hear him on the album revisit some
cob Devarieux, David Sanborn, Brazil’s Carlinhos Brown, of Jaco’s best known lines during his Weather Report
just to name a few. He has produced albums for Senegal’s years, adding an African twist to it.
top-selling artists such as Viviane N’Dour and Kiné Lam. Habib Faye’s musicianship doesn’t stop at the bass; he
In Senegal, he is regarded as a true genius as he has is also an experienced keyboard player. He can be heard
taken the bass to a completely new level in this West playing keyboard bass on countless Super Étoile tunes.
African nation. He is one of bass players in Senegal that He is one of the finest keyboard bassists out there. He
brought the bass to the forefront and made it an instru- pioneered marimba keyboard playing in Senegalese mu-
ment to be reckoned with. The song Bekoor, from Youssou sic, and it is the most popular style in Senegal right now.
N’Dour’s 1984 album Badou, is a reference for many Sene- Paradoxically, he thinks that producers are now stuck
galese bassists. He has produced virtually every Yous- with it and seem not to want to look further. The lack
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Habib Faye
of creativity on the part of some Senegalese musical di- Habib endorsed De Gier [4] basses in July 2008. The
rectors worries him particularly. His work on guitar is Dutch guitar maker credits him on its website as “an
no less important. All of that is evidenced in Youssou amazing bass player”.
N’Dour’s Live at Union Chapel DVD [2] released in 2003. Habib Faye is currently working on his debut album
In 2006, Habib flew to New York to work with An- that was initially slated for release in 2009, but is still in
gelique Kidjo on her latest album, Djin Djin [3], released the works.
on May 1, 2007. Kidjo’s website credits him as the "Sene- [[File:
galese bass giant". Djin Djin, which won a Grammy award Persondata
in 2008, features a myriad of stars, such as Alicia Keys,
Name Faye, Habib
Peter Gabriel, Carlos Santana, Josh Groban, and Branford
Marsalis. Habib is currently touring with Angelique Kid- Alternative names
jo, and has been since last year. They recently played the Short description
North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland. Date of birth
In March 2008, Habib Faye continued his jazz experi-
Place of birth
ments when he brought Lionel Loueke, Herbie Hancock’s
guitar player, and Mokhtar Samba, one of Africa’s premi- Date of death
er drummers, to Dakar for a series of Afro-jazz concerts. Place of death
The act was dubbed the “trio magique.”
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Categories:
• Senegalese musicians
• Living people
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