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Press Kit
Quotes:
"The first Rwandan musician to establish true international visibility." ~ Banning Eyre, Afropop Worldwide
"Fluidity and...passion in his voice are remarkable, also the elegance/imagination in his small-group arrangements, particularly the harmony vocals." - Rick Sanders, FRoots
"Samputu is an extraordinary gift! His performances enhance any event with their cultural significance, exuberant dance & drums, gentle and inspiring insights into the beauty and realities of Rwanda, and his testimony. He reaches all ages and extends people beyond their cultural boundaries. Samputu & Ingeli takes you to Rwanda through music & dance. His work is important and will complement any event. In my 10 years / 22 festivals, Samputu exemplifies WHY I produce cultural music & arts events."
- Jennifer Pickering, Executive Director & Founder, Lake Eden Arts Festival
"from...traditional 5/8 dance music of his native land to.... soul, gospel, and soukous/rumba...This man has a great future!"
-Chris Nickson , All-Music Guide
Voices From Rwanda
As a man who suffered the loss of his family during the Rwandan genocide, Jean Paul Samputu has learned a great deal about the human condition, about man's capacity for evil as well as forgiveness and rebirth. Samputu poured much of that knowledge into the Afro-folk songs—many of them in English—on his debut
international CD, Testimony from Rwanda. The reception for that album taught him much about a more arcane subject, the fickle tastes of the world music marketplace. While many, including this reviewer, praised Testimony, there was a call for a more
distinctive Rwandan flavor in the music, for the earthy roots quality that came across in Samputu's exhillerating live performances with his four-piece group. Here, the artist answers that call with a set
of 12 songs that amount to a tour of Rwandan traditions and include just a single song with any English lyrics at all.
From the cooing vocal harmonies and pounding drums of "Ingoma" to the folksy, acoustic guitar riff blended with haunting mouthbow, and soulful, high vocals of "Umukiza Araje" this album is rich with sonic allure. "Amakondeara" is named from the droning, interlocked horns that overlay pulsing drums and set the stage for
Samputu's fierce, lead vocal. The song plays as a polished rendering of a deep bush ritual expressing both mystic healing and revival. The complexity of Samputu's and Rwanda's experience comes through in many ways, notably on "Psalm 150," a poignant
expression of African Christianity, rendered with Pygmy vocal polyphony. "Shimwa" is one of a few pieces here that use 5/8 rhythm, highly unusual in African traditional music (the universal popularity of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" notwithstanding). This is
a beautiful set of songs rendered with depth and elegance. Should Samputu return to the crossover direction of his earlier release—and I hope and expect he will—let no one say this is a man who has abandoned his roots.~ Banning Eyre www.afropop.org
"When they were playing the drums and dancing, after a while, it was like they weren't even playing the drums...but playing themselves." - legendary jazz bassist Keter Betts
On Testimony from Rwanda: "A small pearl of an album that deserves much wider exposure." - Global Village
"Jean Paul Samputu is a motivational and inspirational
person, as well as performer. I admire how he
expresses to the world how he feels through his music.
His music holds a very strong feeling to it, and he
really does sing with his heart -- holding nothing
back when he performs. Through Jean Paul, I learned
that I should not take anything for granted and to
always be proud of who I am and where I come from.
Samputu is walking proof of how music can heal a
person and bring him back to life when he is on the
verge of death. It was uplifting to me, when at
Samputu's main performance, how almost all of the
people in the audience started to go up and dance
onstage. It brought many different people of all
backgrounds together, having a great time dancing with
one another. Jean Paul Samputu is an admiration to me
and continues to touch lives with people through his
music and dance." - Mandi Back, college student
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