NEW YORK'S “GREAT AFRICAN BALL” RETURNS

July 9, 2004





“Youssou N’Dour has realized that his far-flung fans love his music as he plays it at home in Dakar, without pop-style ballads or English lyrics, and with songs running at curfew-defying, irresistibly danceable length. These home-style balls are his best performances.”

- The New York Times



In a recording career capped by his newest album – the lushly orchestral “Egypt ” (a paean to the tolerant and peaceable face of Islam and mystical Sufism in Senegal, released today on Nonesuch Records) – Senegalese bandleader Youssou N'Dour's rootedness in traditional African music and storytelling has remained the hallmark of his artistic personality.

For more than twenty-five years, N’Dour has led one of Africa’s most popular international touring bands, the “Super Etoile” in the presentation of challenging Senegalese roots music which is infused with elements from beyond the world in which it first emerged yet has been ever faithful to its polyrhythmic origins and traditional ethos.

He has subtly but profoundly revitalized African music in the process.

In a “getting back to basics” in New York once each year, N’Dour’s “Great African Ball”, an all-night dance party in the Senegalese style featuring the Super Etoile in the kind of unhinged performances typical of the surreal West African nightclubs. N'Dour's legion of New York African patrons - from virtually all the countries on the Continent - becomes, for one night, his co-star, their celebratory verve finding expression in an extraordinary community spectacle.

This year, N’Dour’s Great African Ball moves to the storied Roseland Ballroom, 239 West 52nd Street, on the evening of July 9, from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., and promises to be the biggest ever.

Tickets through www.ticketmaster.com.

Visit www.wheresthe1.com/TheGreatAfricanBall for more information or call (212) 673-2229.