I once had the rare privilege to see the great bluesman and songwriter Earl King, who wrote the New Orleans Mardi Gras anthem Big Chief, perform in a small club in Tokyo. Before he took to the stage another band performed, with a well-known young blues guitarist playing fast action licks and riffs at breakneck speed. In complete contrast, when Earl King played guitar he played far fewer notes, paring down the music to its essentials. I can still remember King’s playing, but I can’t recall anything the young pretender played.
I was reminded of this and the adage that less is more while I was listening to the spellbinding music created by Cuban pianist Omar Sosa and Senegalese kora (African harp) maestro and singer Seckou Toure on their second studio album Suba…
