PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024| Jimmy Belah Trio: beautiful afro-folk, sometimes lacking panache

Jimmy Belah is the leader of BIM (Bénin International Musical), a spectacular blend of Beninese traditions, pop, rock and hip hop, to be heard on July 19 on the Parterre stage in the Quartier des spectacles. Don’t miss it! But that’s not why I’m telling you about Jimmy here. This excellent multi-instrumentalist (guitar, drums, harmonica) and very good singer is also pursuing a career in a streamlined formation, the Jimmy Belah Trio. It was this avatar that we heard last night at Balattou Club. With his simple three-guitar proposal (Belah sometimes switches to drums, or adds a harmonica), the artist offers a seductive Afro-folk, generally soft and airy. Let’s say in a ratio of two-thirds of the performance divided into two sets. For perhaps a quarter, he lights the fuse a little with blues- and funk-tinged afro-rock, then for a few numbers sprinkled here and there, he sets the fire with heavy, well-launched rock. One piece, for my money, stood out from the rest: a generous expression of traditional music, vocals and percussion that’s it, which transported the audience into an authentic village celebration. We were spellbound. I would have taken more. There’s nothing to say about the musical quality: Belah’s voice is beautiful, well-balanced and pleasant. He plays acoustic guitar well, and drums even better. Yaovi Atcho on electric guitar and Babatoundé Boni Obinti on bass: convincing. That said, I would note a downside in terms of stage dynamics. The presentation often lacked conviction, as if he didn’t really want to be there. Jimmy’s relationship with the audience was bland and withdrawn. Several transitions seemed approximate and uncoordinated. At first, I thought I was attending the sound check. Too bad, because this is good, beautiful music. I dare to presume that BIM will have a completely different attitude on Friday.