Tout-à-Coup Jazz

Tout-à-Coup Jazz was a musical group formed in the Republic of Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso) in the 1970s, during the military rule of Colonel General Sangoulé Lamizana. In French, tout à coup is an adverb, meaning roughly "all of a sudden" or "out of the blue". As the name indicates, the band played jazz, and is said to have been relatively popular.[1] The band's membership prominently included Captain Thomas Sankara on the guitar, and his close friend, Captain Blaise Compaoré, on the microphone.[2][3]

Thomas Sankara, a charismatic marxist and pan-Africanist, as well as a popular war veteran, met his fellow revolutionary-minded officer Blaise Compaoré in 1976 when the two were stationed in Morocco. Long prior to their meeting, Sankara had been taught to use the guitar as a child by Pascal Ouédraogo Kayouré, who described the future revolutionary as a "disciplined student" whose real passion was music. In 2015 fellow jazz musician Abdoulaye Cisse (who noted that Sankara was a skilled musician whereas "Compaoré just sang") stated that while the band had more rehearsals than concerts, every performance was magical.[4] In 1983, Compaoré led a military coup against Major Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo, placing his fellow band member Sankara as President of Upper Volta.

Sankara would go on to incorporate his musical experiences into the radical transformation of Voltaic society which he attempted, dubbed the "Democratic and Popular Revolution" (French: Révolution démocratique et populaire). He often entertained official guests by playing the guitar,[5] and during a massive campaign to vaccinate rural children he played out in the field.[6] At least once during his time as President, he reunited the band together with Compaoré in a surprise appearance, playing in front of an audience.[2][3] Sankara also personally wrote a new anthem for the newly renamed Burkina Faso, One Sole Night (French: Une Seule Nuit). Not only focusing on his own music, he sponsored domestic musicians, and hosted a number of foreign ones – among them Fela Kuti, a prominent left-wing Nigerian musician who pioneered afrobeat, a combination of traditional African music, funk, highlife, and jazz. Fela would later be highly affected by Sankara's death, and wrote Underground System as a musical tribute to the only African leader to embrace him and his music, a big hit when released in 1992.[7]

On 15 October 1987, Thomas Sankara was killed in a military coup orchestrated by Blaise Compaoré, who succeeded him as President. With this, the band was broken up. Compaoré would remain the ruler of Burkina Faso for 27 years, until he was forced to resign and flee the country following the 2014 Burkinabé uprising, an event largely inspired by Sankara's legacy.

See also

References

  1. ↑ van Dijk, Lutz (2006). A History of Africa. Cape Town: Tafelberg Publishers. p. 163. ISBN 062-404-257-X.
  2. 1 2 Afrique Asie (in French) (Paris: Société d'Éditions Afrique, Asie, Amérique Latine). 1985. Missing or empty |title= (help);
  3. 1 2 15 octobre 1987 - 15 octobre 1997: commémoration du 15 octobre 1987 : bilan d'une décennie : revue de la presse (in French). Paris: Centre d'information sur le développement. 1997. p. 15.
  4. ↑ Molano, Eduardo (27 September 2015). "Jazz, rivalry and revolution: Burkina Faso recalls spirit of Sankara". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  5. ↑ de Waal, Alexander, ed. (2002). Demilitarizing the Mind: African Agendas for Peace and Security. Lawrenceville: Africa World Press. p. 82. ISBN 086-543-988-5.
  6. ↑ Vianello-Chiodo, Marco (2012). Under-Soldier. Bloomington: AuthorHouse. p. 238. ISBN 147-724-740-8.
  7. ↑ Moore, Carlos. Fela: This Bitch of a Life. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. p. 280. ISBN 155-652-835-3.
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