Mali music reviews

Just like everywhere else in the world, the musicians of Africa are in touch with one another, wanting to share ideas and innovate. While some have chosen popular music, western rock, or jazz, others have sought the sublime sound of their own traditional instruments and the subtle differences the music experiences as the continent is crossed. While the distance between Burkina Faso and Mali is minimal, the internal similarities and differences offer a striking opportunity. Lassina Coulibaly has gathered together traditional musicians from the Bambara, Dioula, Gouin, Maninka, Fulani, and Samoro peoples; but freed of traditional uses and structures, they are given a chance to explore the music itself. Transverse flutes, xylophones, kora, sokou (Bambara fiddle), a dozen rattles, water drums, and percussions underpin the essential singing. These are not ancient songs given a new gloss, but new approaches and new compositions, deeply involved in the living, changing traditions of western Africa. --Louis Gibson