Over the decades, bassist Alune Wade has continued to multiply collaborations often far beyond his Senegalese roots. From Marcus Miller to Salif Keïta, Oumou Sangaré or Gregory Porter, his artistic skills have greatly seduced him and raised him to the rank of the best instrumentalists of our time. On February 15, 2022, he will participate in the Sons D’hiver festival with his comrades Cheick Tidiane Seck and Paco Sery.
At 43, Alune Wade has become a mainstay of jazz thanks to his eclecticism and undeniable multicultural altruism. A prolific artist, he promotes an irrepressible open-mindedness through his various projects. It is a pan-African impulse that pushed him to combine his harmonious musicality in the plural. The 368° trio is the sum of three virtuosities from countries whose rich heritage nourishes an original repertoire without borders. Admittedly, the Malian, Ivorian and Senegalese roots of the three protagonists can arise at any time and surprise us, but the challenge lies elsewhere. It is a question of affirming the artistic and collegial understanding of accomplices personalities, determined to work for a sincere and lasting African unity.
All three have a common mentor, the late pianist Joe Zawinul, whose benevolent gaze towards the African continent has long aroused interest. Alune Wade was certainly inspired by this universal approach to music. He himself married throughout his epic the melodious accents of personalities from very diverse backgrounds, Ismaël Lô, Youssou N’Dour, Harold Lopez-Nussa, Bobby McFerrin, Lokua Kanza, Blick Bassy… Convinced of the benefit of encounters and sharing, he continues his journey today by announcing a new album for the month of May 2022.
“Sultan” will, once again, be a bridge between cultures, peoples, that history has mistreated or partially neglected. The ties that unite the Middle East and Africa are often underestimated. Yet they exist. It is in a gesture of concord that Alune Wade envisaged this work of necessary reconciliation. Surrounded by real big names, Cyril Atef, Dramane Dembele, Mounir Troudi, Guimba Kouyaté, Lenny White, among others, Alune Wade twirls with strength and conviction, those of a man of heart who already gives us an appointment in the spring to wear a word of peace. Aren’t we talking about “music diplomacy”? In these times of international tensions, a message of appeasement is a requirement!