"My new album," says Sitson, "shows how I'm anchored in one particular musical vision. There's the tie to my African roots, my appetite for jazz and, of course, my hybrid identity itself. And Bamisphere is a way of expressing that identity a little further." Bamisphere also marks a decisive new chapter in Gino Sitson's career in the States being, as he puts it, "an album of encounters." "New York played an important role in the making of Bamisphere," he says, "because this city made it possible for me to meet the musicians I worked with. They're all absolute legends in their own spheres!" The legends in question include Ron Carter on double bass (currently one of the most respected and studied musicians in the jazz world) and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts (a regular collaborator with the Marsalis clan). Sitson, a talented builder of bridges spanning one musical world to another, claims that his Bamileke roots, which inspired the title of his new album, are only important to him insofar as they thrust him towards new horizons. "They're generous," he says, "Their arms – and their ears – are wide open. My identity has wings that allow me to travel and fly off in all directions."

RFI Musique: You left France, where you’d carved out quite a niche for yourself writing music for television, and relocated to the U.S. This appears to have been an excellent career move…
Gino Sitson: The United States is a country that’s a lot more open on an artistic level. They really value innovation in the U.S. and allow creative talent to exist. No-one tells you what you have to be, the way they do in France where certain people, because they think they know it all, actually end up snuffing out creativity altogether. And I’m talking about creativity in general, not just African artists’ creativity!

The music industry’s interest in African sounds and ‘world music’ had its hour of glory in France and a lot of other countries only jumped on the bandwagon later. But these days an increasing number of African artists are now showing a preference for America…
It’s sad. In France now everyone seems to be going round in circles, doing the same old thing, then inspiration dries up and finally dies. I'd say there’s a sort of generalised state of depression right now. I see a lot of artists around me – film directors and authors as well as musicians – leaving France to try their luck in the U.S. As far as African artists are concerned, the main problem they face in France is cliché. There are just way too many clichés about Africa. I’ve been with record labels where people were actually turning round and telling me what to do. I got all these stupid comments like ’What you’re doing doesn’t sound African enough!’ I mean, how stupid is that? That’s a serious problem, though, their way of trying to determine what African artists should be. It’s like they’re telling you ‘OK, this is what you have to do, you have to come up with what we expect from you!’ And it’s always the same old thing: balafon, boubous (robes), tom toms – and a life story that’ll make everyone cry! As an African artist you’re instantly stuck in a pigeon-hole full of neo-colonial clichés.

Here, in the States, you can feel a totally different dynamic going on. No-one tries to pigeon-hole you for a start. It’s not easy, but I think it’s true to say that anything’s possible so long as you work hard and you’ve got the staying power. I think the fact that my second album, Song Zin, ended up selected as one of the Top Ten jazz records of the year in one of the most prestigious American newspapers, the Los Angeles Times, says a lot. That was the first time an African artist had ever made it into the list, you know!

So you’re pretty much in the same situation as all those other African artists who now find themselves having to turn their back on Africa to win over Western audiences where the money seems to be…
There’s a saying where I come: "The goat grazes where it’s tied." I think that says it all! I don’t feel as if I’m turning my back on anyone, certainly not Africa. It’s just that, given that I now live in the States, I’m able to promote, in my own way, a positive image of Africa in the West and correct the mistaken image people so often have of the continent I come from.

Gino Sitson Bamisphere (Nocturne) 2006