Bassama from Jeenaki by Sounds of Sudan

Bassama is the second piece by Abdel Gadir Salim that we’ll perform and it is from his fantastic album “Abdel Gadir Salim and the Merdoum Kings” (please go and check it out!).
Like Jeenaki the melody goes beyond the pentatonic scale and uses the natural minor instead.
Salim has been a true pioneer including in his use of non traditional instruments (listen out for the “guitar part” played by the viola in our arrangement).
The Merdoum is a popular rhythm from Salim’s native Kordofan. Like the first two pieces in our set it is in 6/8 but with a particular emphasis. The words for Bassama were written by Abdula el Kazem

Tracklist