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Though the songs on this collection may come from many different countries, they fit together naturally, like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. We discovered each song in different ways. We came across a vintage Sonora Paramarera album during a visit to Suriname. We traveled to the African island nation of São Tomé & Príncipe several times but only learned about the talented Neto Amado when he sent us demos of his songs last year. We have visited Cuba often, but we actually found the two featured Cubans far from their homeland. While the path that led us to each song was unique, there’s no question that they belong together. We hope you enjoy this musical family reunion.The songs featured on this collection come from many African diaspora countries: Cameroon, Congo, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Cabo Verde, Senegal, São Tomé & Príncipe, Suriname and Cuba. Separated by oceans, jungles or deserts, these countries are tied together by common history and cultural roots. While the personal stories of enslaved Africans in the Americas have mostly been lost to time, their saga lives on in the music that has echoed back and forth across the continents. The music of Cuba, with its distinct syncopated bass line, bub-bling interlocking percussion and rhythmic call and response vocals, is the outcome of the collision of African and European cultures in the New World. When vinyl albums brought the first recordings of Cuban music back to Africa, it was like meeting a long-lost family member – one who had spent many years travel-ing the world and had many interesting new stories to tell. !"#$%&'(#!%"

The late Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango was a leading figure in African music for more than 50 years. A versa-tile and open-minded musical explorer, Dibango played everything from classic Congolese rumba to avant-garde jazz. Born in 1933 in Douala, Cameroon, Dibango was sent to boarding school in France when he was 15. There he began studying music and playing in the local jazz scene, eventually joining the band of legendary Congolese rumba musician Le Grand Kalle. Dibango’s most recognizable hit is “Soul Makossa,” a funky, Afro-soul groove that he released in 1972.“Bessoka (Version Courte)” is one of the many Afro-Cuban inspired songs that Manu Dibango recorded during his long career. With its laid-back vibe, buoyed by the warm tinkling of a marimba and Dibango’s sultry vocals, the song reflects his tasteful and confident blend of African and Latin music. It was recorded in Paris in 2001 and appeared on Dibango’s 2002 album B Sides.)* +,"'-&!.,"/% * .011234-56071829-(2:7;0<Eneida Marta began learning various styles of traditional music when she was just a little girl in Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony in West Africa. Marta grew up listening to local musical styles like gumbe, and her father was an artist of Cabo Verdean heritage, exposing her to the rich cultural tra-ditions of his native land. She worked with a number of well-known Afro-Portuguese artists before recording her first solo album in 2001. Now living in Lisbon, Marta has become an in-de-mand vocalist for local productions and has recorded with many of Africa’s popular Lusophone (Portuguese diaspora) musicians and producers. “Dur Di Kutubel” (Sour Grapes) is from Eneida Marta’s 2019 album Ibra. She dedicated the album to Guinean kora master Ibrahim Galissa, a regular col-laborator who passed away prematurely earlier that year. Marta sings, “Your best friend in this world can become your worst enemy sometimes / When he turns his back to you, all your secrets come out / If you’re a liar, if you’re a thief, if you’re a witch or wizard / Everyone will know.”=* >">!&,-+,$#, * &:7-&8-?:;:@0A

Originally from Havana and based in Los Angeles for many years before settling in Montreal, Jesús Alejandro, who goes by the nickname “El Niño” (The Boy), is a true maestro of classic Cuban son. A gifted pia-nist, flautist, arranger and songwriter with a warm, soulful voice, El Ninõ’s talents should have earned him wider name recognition. But he has often worked outside the spot-light supporting better-known front men such as Oscar D’León, Roberto Torres and Ricardo Lemvo. El Niño’s compositions have appeared in many films and television programs, including Gran Torino, Dexter and The Shield. El Niño’s original song “Adios Guajira” (Goodbye Country Girl) first appeared on his 2011 album Regreso A Casa. “Since you said farewell, my country girl, I feel like dying,” he sings mournfully. “I still miss you my love / I’m not happy / Today my heart is filled with hope / It longs for you, waiting with open arms for you to come and relieve this pain.”B* C>DED-,F>C,"&$%-G>F-"!H%I * ,J821-/:4K874Uziel Sança was born in 1980 in Cabo Verde, a cluster of islands located about 300 miles off the coast of Senegal in West Africa, and now lives in Rhode Island. Well known at home for his songwriting talents and his work with some of Cabo Verde’s leading musicians, Sança released his first solo album, Nha Storia, in 2013. The album featured “Sociedade Parasita” a relaxed coladeira (a Cabo Verdean dance music style) featuring the lilting strumming of a cavaquinho (a small four-stringed guitar) and the gentle melodies of an accordion. The song also features a clarinet solo, an instrument that is often used in traditional Cabo Verdean music.L* 'M!>F-D,"N, * D2O80J4J0-P47418;4

Meissa M’Baye is the descendant of a long line of Senegalese griots, an ancient clan of storytellers and bards who use music to pass on history and traditional culture. Born in Dakar in 1959, M’Baye was taught at a young age a repertoire of traditional and reli-gious songs as well as the refined art of improvising songs of praise. With a rich baritone voice, Meissa sings in Wolof, Mandinka, Arabic and French, and his music blends local instruments such as the n’goni, kora and calabash with elements from other cultures.On “Femme Noire” (Black Woman), from Meissa’s 2005 album Entre Seine et Sine (Between the Seine and Sin), he praises the beauty and elegance of African women. The lyrics are based on a French-language poem writ-ten in 1945 by Senegal’s beloved poet and first president Léopold Sédar Senghor. “Nude woman, black woman / Clothed with your color, which is life / With your form which is beauty / In your shadow I have grown up / The gentleness of your hands was laid over my eyes.”Q* +>!DD, * R0SS0-"2870Born in 1943 in the mountains sur-rounding the eastern Cuban city of Santiago, Rey Cabrera inherited his love of música campesina (country music) from his father. As a young boy, Cabrera mastered the tres, a Cuban guitar whose riffs are the underpinning of much of the island’s traditional styles. He formed his first band with Eliades Ochoa (who went on to become a core member of Buena Vista Social Club) and Benito Suarez (who became Compay Segundo’s guitar player). For many years, Cabrera was a member of the iconic ensemble Vieja Trova Santiaguera, before forming the equally important Trio Oriente. Now living in Brussels, Cabrera continues to record classic son, guajira, changüí and other essential Cuban folk styles. “Paraíso Guajiro” (Country Paradise) is from Cabrera’s 2017 album Best of Rey Cabrera. It is a son in the classic conjunto format pioneered by the blind Cuban tres player Arsenio Rodriguez in the 1940s. It is performed with tres, piano, bongos, congas, guitar, bass and two trumpets. “Deep in the woods, where I have my farm,” Cabrera sings, “I’m a happy country boy in the mountains.”T* $>U-(,.$>$, * P474V12-/:4K872

The band Sonora Paramarera first formed in 1951 in Suriname, a for-mer Dutch colony situated in South America between French Guiana to the East and Guyana to the West. Founded by musician Eddy Snijders, the group played a variety of Latin American and Caribbean music styles, from Dominican merengue to Trinidadian calypso, as well as local genres such as kaseko. After disbanding in 1958, the band re-formed with a new lineup in 1960, adding salsa, funk, jazz, soca and even American countr y mu sic to their repertoire.Sonora Paramarera recorded this cover of the well-known Cuban song “Sabroso Como El Guarapo” (Tasty Like Sugar Cane Juice), renaming it “Boracho” (Drunk) and giving it a bouncier, less-syncopated bass line than the Cuban original. It appeared on their 1976 album Prisiri Verjari. While the band hasn’t recorded new material in many years, their 1970s recordings are considered classics of tropical music.W* D%"%$,-P,$,+,$>$, * .274OX2Growing up in Congo-Brazzaville, Mel Malonga was surrounded by a fertile music scene. By the time he was five years old, even before he learned how to read, he was playing multiple musical instruments. His curiosity led him to teach himself accordion and piano, before discovering the beauty of the bass when singing in a choir as a teenager. He would play the low vocal parts on a bass guitar, learning Mozart and Bach melodies in the process. Eventually, Malonga’s skills as a bassist led him to play with many legendary figures in African music, including Ali Farka Touré, Les Bantous de la Capitale and Lokua Kanza. In 2010, Malonga opened the arts venue Kudia in Brazzaville, which presents concerts by a wide range of local talents. He has also collaborated with a number of renowned choreographers and theater directors in recent years. The jazzy rumba “Requiem de l’Amour” is from Malonga’s only solo album Wâ, which he released in 2021. According to Malonga, “With this song I musically retrace the path that Congolese music has taken during the great deportation from Africa to Cuba starting in the 16th century. It is also an opportunity for me to pay tribute to the legendary band Les Bantous de la Capitale and the great master Zao Casimir.”Y* +>F-+,F%"/, * $0Z:80S-J0-A[,S2:7

Guitarist Neto Amado is from São Tomé & Príncipe, a small African nation com-prised of two islands located off the coast of Gabon. A former Portuguese colony that gained its independence in 1975, the islands are home to a unique musical culture that reflects elements of African, Portuguese and even Brazilian fla-vors. Amado’s music is influenced by local rhythms such as bulauê and ússua mixed with Congolese rumba, Cabo Verdean coladeira, Angolan kizomba, Brazilian bossa nova, Cuban son, Amer ican jazz and more. This variety reflects Amado’s world travels, as he has lived in Cuba, Portugal, the US and Sweden, picking up inspirations along the way.On “Santomense,” Amado sings in Portuguese and the local language Forro about a beautiful woman, comparing her to the many sweet fruits and spicy musical rhythms that can be found on these lush, tropical islands. “You are beautiful, you are jackfruit, you are safu, cajamanga / Sweet and delicious, sweet and delicious / You are São Toméan, you are São Toméan / You are beautiful, you are a mother, you are passion, caja-manga / Sweet and delicious, sweet and delicious.”\* ">#%-,+,&% * D49;2S0910With his band Makina Loca, the Los Angeles-based singer produces an appealing blend of African and Cuban music that has earned him a worldwide following. Lemvo’s early recordings drew mainly from Congolese rumba and soukous mixed with Cuban son and salsa. Lemvo’s family roots are in northern Angola. He grew up in Congo-Kinshasa where he was intro-duced to Cuban music by a cousin who owned a large collection of vintage Cuban LPs. Lemvo came to the US more than 30 years ago to pursue a law degree but decided instead to devote his life to music. Since forming his band Makina Loca in 1990, Lemvo has toured extensively in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Australia and has released seven albums. “N’dona Ponte,” the title track of Lemvo’s 2020 album, is a tribute to his paternal great grandmother and describes the joy of his grandfather’s birth. “The news came early in the morning,” Lemvo sings in the Kikongo language, “N’dona Ponte gave birth to a beautiful baby.”)]* $!(,$&%-F>+6%-^-+,?!",-F%(, * "[J294-P29;0

($>&!#D-Manu Dibango “Bessoka (Version Courte)” (Manu Dibango) from the album B Sides on Soul Makossa ! & " 2002 Soul Makossa. Photo by Gilles Vidal.Eneida Marta “Dur Di Kutubel” (Umaro Can Djanlo) from the album Ibra ! & " 2019 ALG Eventos. Photo by Bruno Oliveira.Jesús Alejandro “El Niño” “Adios Guajira” (Jesús Alejandro Pérez) from the album Regreso a Casa on LMS Records ! & " 2011 LMS Records and Latin Music Specialists. Photo by Neiver A. Alvarez Fontaine. Uziel Sança “Sociedade Parasita” (Uziel Sança Gomes) from the album Nha Storia ! & " 1996 Uziel Sança. Photo courtesy of Uziel Sança. Meissa “Femme Noire” (Léopold Sédar Senghor, Eldo Papiri, Meissa M’baye) from the album Entre Seine et Sine on Comet Records ! Tenyor Mu sic OBO Nouvel le Mank in Indu stri es SA R / Copyright Control " 2005 Africart / Planet Woo / Comet Records. Photo by Guinguette N&B.Rey Cabrera “Paraíso Guajiro” (Rey Cabrera) from the album The Best of Rey Cabrera on Goldenlane Records ! Adasong Productions " 2018 Cleopatra Records. Photo courtesy of Cleopatra Records.Sonora Paramarera “Boracho” (Marcos Perdomo, Johan Groenberg) from the album Prisiri Verj ari on Dureco / Fajalobie ! Peer Music III Ltd. " 1976 Dureco. Photo courtesy of Sonora Paramarera.Mel Malonga “Requiem de l’Amour” (Armel Malonga) from the album Wâ ! & " 2021 Malonga Records. Photo courtesy of Mel Malonga.Neto Amado “Santomense” (Carlos Neto Amado) ! & " 2021 Carlos Neto Amado. Photo by Urban Jörén.Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca “N’dona Ponte” (Ricardo Lemvo) from the album N’dona Ponte ! Mopiato Music (ASCAP) " 2020 Ricardo Lemvo. Photo courtesy of Ricardo Lemvo.Executive Producer & Song Selection: Dan Storper A&R & Liner Notes: Jacob Edgar A&R & Project Coordination: Guthrie StoltzfusDesign: Lisa Lee Mastering: Lane Gibson Recording and Mastering, Charlotte, VTWhile you’re there, be sure to sign up to receive information about Putumayo releases, events and special promotions.Putumayo CDs are available in thousands of record, book, gift andother specialty stores. For digital options or, if you can’t nd a title, please visit www.putumayo.comwww.putumayo.com&81O2_07-#X0-`27AJ-`8;X-P:;:S4a2• Hear song samples from more than 50 albums.• Listen to the weekly Putumayo World Music Hour on demand and nd more than 100 radio stations that broadcast the show. • Listen to new playlists on Apple Music, Spotify and Pandora each week.• Watch global music videos.• View more than 30 multicultural books & activity sets for children.• Discover Putumayo world art & photography cards. andAlso check out the Putumayo pages on