The Man
Zé Manel, a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, is the most famous and influential musician to emerge from the West African country of Guinea-Bissau. By the age of seven, Zé was playing drums and guitar, and had become the main attraction of the Super Mama Djombo band. During the 1970s, this seminal orchestra played a major role in the liberation struggle of the former Portuguese colony.
In 1982, Zé released his first solo album, Tustumunhos di Aonti (Yesterday's Testimony), a collection of soulful topical songs about current events in Guinea-Bissau. The album was a national triumph—people in Guinea-Bissau still sing these songs today—but the times were turbulent, the government was not pleased, and Zé's fans urged him to flee for his own safety. His journey of self-exile took him to Portugal (where he studied opera under a scholarship grant), France and, finally, the United States.
The Music
Zé's American debut album, Maron di Mar, was released in 2001 and received rave reviews from European and American media. Since then, Zé has continued on his quest to stir the senses and raise the consciousness of those around him, balancing the seriousness and urgency of the challenges that Africa faces with the inspiration that there is still hope. Zé’s warm tenor, compelling lyrics, and a wide range of musical styles bring the passion of his message home.
Currently, Zé is completing his first opera, [The Sahel Opera]; it will have its world premiere in Mali late this year.
The CD
Zé's new CD, Povo Adormecido (My People Are Asleep), will be released on August 1, 2006. Sung in Creol, English, Portuguese and French, and set to a series of irresistible Afrobeat grooves, the songs speak to the universal longing to live in peace.
The title track pays tribute to the indomitable spirit of the African people, and raises a challenge to all of us to transcend our limitations when faced with the greatest challenges. Other songs (some with lyrics by Zé, some written in collaboration with schoolteacher/poet Uco Monteiro, journalist Tony Tcheka, and Senegalese computer engineer Pierre H Sagna) address the humanity (and inhumanity) of policemen, the homesickness of political exiles, and the inhumanity of selfish African dictators.