September 2020
Étienne M’Bappé has been a musical inspiration of mine for the better part of 20 years now. Cameroonian born, Étienne has lived in France since 1978 and been a heavy on the scene there for nearly as long. A member of the pioneering fusion group “Ultramarine”, he’s also played with just a little bit of everybody (most notably, Joe Zawinul, Robin Ford, Ray Charles, Steps Ahead and he’s been with John McLaughlin’s group for quite a few years now, most recently).
The thing that I really love about his albums, in particular, is how stunningly beautiful his compositions are. He sings as well and there’s just something about his earthy, yet melodic voice that grabs me every time. You won’t find his albums packed with bass pyrotechnics (although he does it well)… they are all about the songs and the music is captivating.
I’ll let you explore from here…
Étienne MBAPPÉ & The Prophets Live Session
“WONDJA” A song about FREEDOM, from his album entitled PATER NOSTER, and released October 2013.