Naamu is the new project of bass guitarist Teun Creemers.
In Naamu, Creemers and his band masterfully blend their love of West African music with jazz and groove music, creating a unique blend they call ‘Malinke Groove Jazz’.
This unique musical collaboration between some of the best musicians from the Netherlands, Belgium and West Africa consists of a solid six-member base of drums, percussion, kamale n’goni, saxophone, guitar and bass guitar. In addition, the band is often accompanied by several guest musicians who previously made an appearance on the Naamu album.
In 2024, the band had a very successful “Voix du Mali” tour with singers Kankou Kouyaté, Yacouba Sagara and Aminata Dante (known for her 13-year collaboration with Salif Keïta). Additional collaborations with other great musicians such as balafonist Mamadou Diabaté are also on the horizon.
The combination of influences from West Africa and jazz create a unique live experience with a sound that is both pure and powerful, reflecting the energy and soul of the album. The band is incredibly well-matched and forms a strong and flexible base that takes an adventurous approach to Naamu’s repertoire.
The Naamu album has been warmly received worldwide and has received exclusively rave reviews in renowned magazines, newspapers and blogs such as Songlines (UK), Trouw (NL) and Musicmaker (NL). In addition, Naamu has been nominated for a prestigious Edison award in the Global category in 2023.
Teun Creemers (bass guitar) Jesse Schilderink (tenor saxophone) Jelle Roozenburg (guitar) Lauriane Ghils (kamale n’goni and percussion) Yannick van ter Beek, (percussion) Tuur Moens (drums)
Naamu ft. Voix du Mali
For “Voix du Mali” tours, the band is joined by Kankou Kouyaté, Aminata Dante and Yacouba Sagara; three Malian singers who all made appearances on the Naamu album. They sing powerful stories with themes of friendship, celebration and war, which blend perfectly with the band’s raw, thunderous playing.
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Kankou Kouyaté is a remarkable singer with a warm dark voice that blends very well with that of her fellow singers. Kankou comes from the same musical griot family as the world-famous Bassekou Kouyaté and will soon release her debut album in collaboration with the One Worlds label.
Aminata Dante has been active in the West African music scene for years. For 13 years, she toured the world with the great Salif Keïta and appeared on several of his albums. Her high-pitched voice and tasteful vibrato gives the trio’s collaborative singing a near magical edge.
Yacouba Sagara is mainly known in Mali by his stage name ‘Bloffou’. He has a very powerful voice and a lot of experience as a musician in Mali. His poetic lyrics and improvisational skills give the band many possibilities live.
Naamu ft. Mamadou Diabaté
On tours with Mamadou Diabaté the band plays carefully arranged instrumental versions of the Naamu repertoire with lots of space for solo’s and improvisation. The addition of the master balafonist Mamadou Diabaté gives the band a remarkable sound and a stronger reference to west-African music.
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Mamadou is an extraordinary virtuoso on the balafon. He was born into a traditional family of musicians (Sambla people) in Burkina Faso with a long tradition of practicing the craft of storytelling and music-making. Mamadou has released 14 CD’s with his own compositions and 2 others with authentic music of the Sambla and Tusia people. He has also won several awards, including most recently Burkina Faso’s “Best International Artist” award in 2019.
The Album
As a bass guitarist, composer and initiator, Teun always seeks the perfect balance between the various roles he can take on as a bass guitarist. His combination of West African styles and more familiar styles such as pop and jazz have proven to be an excellent playground for exploring these possibilities on his instrument; a characteristic direction his music takes in the form of his new album called Naamu, meaning “yes, I am listening”
In Naamu, Creemers masterfully blends his love for West African music with jazz and groove music, creating a unique blend that he calls “Malinke Groove Jazz.” With his extensive experience playing bass in the bands of various West African musicians, Creemers saw the need to delve deeper into West African music and all its possibilities while not neglecting his experiences in the Dutch jazz scene.
To create this unique blend, Creemers collaborated with co-producer Sebastiaan van Bijlevelt, recording most of the album at the Galloway Studio in Nijmegen (NL). However, the recording of Naamu was a global effort, as the album was also recorded in studios located in Mali, United States, and France. This allowed for a diverse range of experiences and sounds that further enhance the album’s uniqueness.
The album’s lyrics are sung in Bambara, one of the many languages spoken in West Africa. The album’s various singers, such as Kankou Kouyaté and Yacouba “Bloffou” Sagara, sing poetically about themes such as war, friendship, and a celebration of women. The lyrics of the album’s first single, À Nyininka, are particularly powerful and leave much to the imagination, blending perfectly with the raw, thunderous playing of the various musicians on the album.
The various musicians making an appearance on the album include Harouna Samake (kamale n’goni), Mamadou Diabate (balafon), Sefoudi Kouyate (kora), Yacouba Sagara (vocals), Kankou Kouyaté (vocals), Aminata Dante (vocals), Lassine Diarra (vocals), Bah Kouyaté (vocals), Eva Dembeler (vocals), Jesse Schilderink (tenor), Miguel Boelens (alto/tenor), Mete Erker (bass clarinet), Yoran Vroom (drums), Antoine Duijkers (drums/percussion), Yariv Vroom (percussion), Fantison Araby O’Bryan (percussion), Yannick van ter Beek (percussion), and Teis Semey (guitar).
Naamu has been warmly welcomed worldwide and has exclusively received remarkably favourable reviews in renowned magazines, newspapers and blogs such as Songlines (UK), Trouw (NL) and Musicmaker (NL). In addition, Naamu was nominated for a prestigious Edison prize in the Global category in 2023.
My favourite is the album’s opening track À Nyininka with that sublime bass line. Never heard anything like it coming out of a bass guitar before!
Musicmaker Magazine
The result of Naamu is: music that sounds like Salif Keïta’s best records, with bass playing that uniquely picks up lines normally played on the Moroccan guembri or the Malian bass-n’goni. Enormously virtuosic and rhythmically complex, but oh so beautiful.
Mixedworldmusic.com
★★★★
Songlines Magazine
“Creemers leads the way with his guitar-like approach to bass playing. Naamu is thus a thoroughly enjoyable jaunt replete with earthy grooves and dazzling vocals.”
Contact:
Teun Creemers
info@teuncreemers.com
+31 6 30 87 15 71
Tour dates:
May 16th 2024 – De Doelen (Rotterdam) – Naamu ft. Voix du Mali
May 17th 2024 – Bimhuis (Amsterdam) – Naamu ft. Voix du Mali
May 18th 2024 – Music Meeting Festival (Nijmegen) – Naamu ft. Voix du Mali
May 23th 2024 – HoffArt Theater (Darmstadt) – Naamu ft. Voix du Mali
May 24th 2024 – De Roma (Antwerpen) – Naamu ft. Voix du Mali