Born in 1967 in Dakar, artist Mamadou Mbaye, known as Jimmy, died Tuesday evening. A songwriter, arranger, producer and singer, he was an outstanding guitarist and member of the Super Étoile de Dakar. Jimmy was a creative artist with several strings to his bow.
Mamadou Mbaye, alias ”Jimmy Mbaye”, who died on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, was a high-level author-composer, arranger, producer and singer. As a guitarist, his exceptional talent allowed him to gain recognition from renowned musicians as well as the general public. Jimmy, as he was called by his relatives, was best known for his collaborations with Senegalese legend Youssou Ndour. His name pays homage to one of his main sources of inspiration, the American Jimi Hendrix.
It was in 1979 that Jimmy Mbaye joined Youssou Ndour. Together, they founded the Super Étoile orchestra with percussionist Mbaye Dièye Faye, Papa Oumar Ngom (rhythm guitar) and Assane Thiam (tama). The group released numerous albums and performed on almost all the major stages in the world. The collaboration between Jimmy and the King of Mbalakh was fruitful, offering rhythmic and danceable sounds much appreciated by the Senegalese.
It should be noted that the absence of Jimmy and bassist-keyboardist Habib Faye during the Grand Bal de Youssou Ndour at Bercy in 2013 was particularly noted.
Personal projects
Jimmy adapted the sounds of the xalam and the kora to his Fender Stratocaster guitar. He developed Afro-pop or Afro-jazz, a style he drew from mbalakh. Creative and open-minded, while relying on traditional Senegalese sounds, he concocted different explosive cocktails: jazz-fusion, Afro-blues. All this talent can be found in his first album ”Dakar Heart” (Le cœur de Dakar), released in 1997.
Moreover, Jimmy Mbaye later collaborated with Peter Gabriel in 2002 on his CD ”So”, notably on the title ”Don’t Give Up”, performed as a duet with Kate Bush. In 2005, he released his second album entitled ”Yaye Digalma” (Mom advise me), produced by his own label, Studio Dogo Productions. The same label produced ”Kharé Dounya” (The fight for life), released in 2012. This opus presents an afro-pop/acoustic style.
With the band Dogo that he created, he toured and had the opportunity to collaborate with great artists, including American jazz drummer Steve Reid, with whom he worked on the CD ”Daxaar” in 2007. He also collaborated with his young compatriots, such as Pape Diouf, during a concert at Just 4 You in Dakar, in 2012.
