A Nigerian Take on the Great American Songbook

Douyé on the cover of her new album (courtesy of DL Media)

A little less than two weeks ago, Rhombus Records released The Golden Sèkèrè, the fifth album by Nigerian-born jazz vocalist Douyé, who is now based in Los Angeles. The title refers to a beaded percussion instrument that differentiates indigenous Nigerian music from other sources on the African continent. However, the fourteen tracks on this album are all drawn from the Great American Songbook.

One way to approach The Golden Sèkèrè is as a study in context. Douyé’s delivery of the songs is based on a consistently clear account of both the text and the tunes, and the winds, brass, and piano consistently provide straightforward accompaniment. What makes the album interesting, however, is when a familiar foreground is embellished with African percussion instruments, such as the sèkèrè.

That instrument, performed by Najite Agindotan, establishes a decidedly unique context for “My Funny Valentine;” and Douyé herself plays the instrument to enhance Lionel Louke’s arrangement of “Fly Me to the Moon.” Other percussionists appear on other tracks with Fola Abiala being particularly interesting on his talking drum. Furthermore, several of the tracks introduce a Latin rhetoric. This is most engaging when Raul Ramirez takes over the percussion for “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” while both Abiala and Agindotan contribute to the mix.

It would probably be fair to say that this is one of those albums in which the angels are in the details. Douyé delivers consistently solid accounts of tunes likely to be familiar to most, if not all, listeners. However, each track has its own domain of subtle approaches to accompaniment. I have found that, over the course of several listenings, I keep discovering new instances of those subtleties; and that goes right to the heart of the sort of “serious listening” that I relish!