Mali music reviews

Toumani Diabate, scion of one of Mali's oldest hereditary musical dynasties, was born into a few-centuries-worth of hard-acts-to-follow. But his output continues his father Sidiki's life-long exploration of the manifold possibilities of the kora, West Africa's glorious 21-string harp-lute. Aside from folklore-based recitals, such as New Ancient Strings with fellow kora virtuoso Ballake Sissoko, he has also released a quiver-full of genre-bursting experiments. The flamenco-infused Songhai albums, Kulanjan, with American roots master Taj Mahal, and 2005's Grammy-winning In The Heart Of The Moon with the late, great Malian guitarist Ali Farka, are only a few highlights. The present project, featuring a 50-member big band hailing from Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Côte D’Ivoire, and Guinée, can best be described as neo-trad-with-attitude. Local xylophones, plucked instruments, and percussion abut drum kits and electric bass. The string arrangements sometimes recall Zanzibar's Taarab orchestras, while the brass charts have an aggressive yet tasty swagger; you might not imagine that the kora could work as a lead instrument in such company but it does. Further graced by the astounding vocals of Kasse Mady Diabate and a mixed chorale, this is a ground-breaking and soon-to-be-legendary release. --Christina Roden