Mali music reviews

"MALI LOLO" provides a cross-section of what Malian music sounds like today. Here you can sample a wide variety of styles, from the droning songs of Wassoulou hunter societies to the bluesy inflections of desert-dwelling Songhai singers like Ali Farka Toure. Some, like Neba Solo, Yoro Sidibe, and Toumani Diabate, play only traditional instruments; others, like Habib Koite and Kasse Mady, blend local melodies and rhythms with electric guitars and drumsets. Tartit, an ensemble of Tuareg nomads from the north of Mali, offers a minimalist mix of voices and hand-drums. Then there's Les Escrocs, young rappers from Bamako. You couldn't ask for a more eclectic collection; it truly reflects the marvelous cultural diversity of Mali.

If "MALI LOLO" has a drawback, it's that this eclecticism can make for an uneven listening experience. One minute you're grooving to Yoro Sidibe's trance-inducing sounds, next you're off on an up-tempo dance excursion (complete with drum machine track) with Oumou Sangare, and after that you're treated to several minutes of a placid kora duet by Toumani Diabate and Ballake Sissoko. But then, imagine if someone tried to put together a collection of "The Stars of the USA," combining Springsteen, Eminem, Alison Krause, and Keith Jarrett.... So it's probably unreasonable to expect musical consistency. You just have to enjoy each track for its own worth. And for most of us, that's enough to merit the purchase price.

MALI LOLO! rocks from the first beat of a drum-based display of dance music by Kassy Mady Diabate in his powerful 'Eh Ya Ye', continues with Kardia Kouyate's 'Sam Baranc', and highlights the sparse guitars unique to Malian style along the way.

In the vast universe called 'music' there exists a 'galaxy' called 'international' and within it, it is the musical 'stars' of Mali who shine the brightest of all ... !!!

This compilation does indeed bring the best, the brightest, the traditional as well as the newest musicians together - each enhancing the heritage and classical music for which Mali has become recognized. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings never ceases to amaze me with their oustanding compilations. Their forward thinking, to cherish and collect music from around the world before it changes or is lost forever is *very* much recognizned and appreciated.

This is the seventh CD of music from Mali that I own and certainly not the last ... Kasse Mady Diabete provides impressive vocals on track #1, accompanied by traditional African instruments, ngoni fitini, ngoni ba, "ngoni" being a type of lute or harp, djembe (an hour-glass shaped drum), and my favorite, the balafon, which is a type of hammered dulcimer. I am very fond of Habib Koite and Bamada, on track #2 they demonstrate their unique style and talent, by weaving together the sounds of an acoustic guitar and harmonica. Since the Manding Empire (1235 AD), the role of the "griots" has been established, this clan has honed their oratorial skills, musical talents and story-telling abilities, which is clearly evident by the singing of Kandai Kouyate, a female vocalist. Tinarwen, people of the desert, provide another variation in the vast musical culture of Mali. I love their ability to combine traditional vocals with modern instruments. [Refer to review "The Radio Tisdas Sessions" also highly recommended}
There are many moods and feelings expressed on this CD, all of which evoke the timeless beauty of the vast continent of Africa and especially the country of Mali. The crystal clear universal message expressed on this CD is "the brotherhood of mankind". Erika Borsos (erikab93)

Malcolm Welbourne is a true practitioner of spirited southern wetlands soul; he is as deeply rooted in the land of his origin as the baldcypress in red-eye swamp. This album is spicy gumbo for the mind and spirit; fans of Dr. John will find Papa Mali a comfortable bayou companion. Apart from this enlivening album, his work with Omar and the Howlers is just as magical and energizing.

The CD was as good as when I heard PaPa live. Great music, can't beat that old bayou/blues sound.

Truth to tell, I'd never heard of these guys before getting a mailing from Fog City Records. I'd liked other Fog City releases enough to give Papa Mali a listen. It's a keeper fo' sure.

Most New Orleans groups will give props to the elders, & Papa Mali is no exception. Great, funky covers of Clifton Chenier ("Bon Ton Roulet"), Dr. John ("Walk On Gilded Splinters") & The Wild Magnolias ("Fire Water"). The originals are up to the challenge as well. Perfect accompaniment for that Mardi Gras mood.

I was mislead by the Title: "Dance Music of Tonga - Malie! Beautiful. I expected the soft happy Polynesian Music. Instead this CD sounds more like a collector's item of ancient sounds (not melodic) from the distant past. It is recited in the ancient form of the Tongan language that is no longer spoken. I can't figur out how anyone could dance to it. I was looking for Tongan Music like for example by Siale Iongi, which conveys the "Ofa" (Aloha, Love) Spirit, which sounds so happy and malie! beautiful! And makes me feel so good! So naturally I was disappointed. This CD seems to be some scholarly thesis of no entertainment value, and therefore I can't really rate it.

"Malie 'Aupito" in Tongan means ultimate top rated entertainment and performance,music or dance.The variety of Tongan music represented in this CD is good and atleast they are in recorded form, better than nothing.There have been other groups and artists doing same or better quality work, but they have not been recorded.This CD collection belong in ethnomusicology. The strains and sounds are basically Tongan
originals, the words and literature relate aspects of Tongan life and feelings. Congratulations to the producers and artists.

This is really the sound of Tonga (along with the album of kava songs, "Pacific Music 2: Tongan Kava Circle"). If anyone thinks this isn't Tongan dance music, they must never have been to the Friendly Isles. This album conjurs up the stately elegance of lakalaka and ma'ulu'ulu, and the fierce intensity of kailao. It may not be music to dance in the moonlight to, but it certainly provides a wonderful taste of the traditional Tonga social line dance.

I'm a huge music fan and love all kinds of music, especially The Blues, owning around 100 blues CDs, including a few others by Corey Harris; I've even seen him perform live, and would consider myself a fan.

This CD is related to Corey's participation in Martin Scorsese's PBS documentary about The Blues, and attempts (rather successfully) to draw the links between American Blues and its African roots through collaboration with modern-day African musicians. There are new originals, a tribute to recently-passed Otha Turner (who was to have played on the album), and a number of excellent covers of classic blues tunes (Big Road Blues, Special Rider Blues, Station Blues, 44 Blues, Catfish Blues, Dark Was The Night...) that many blues fans will be familiar with, collaborations with African music star Ali Farka Toure (a superb guitarist/vocalist) and others, along with American blues artists like Bobby Rush.

OK, so far so good -- a good concept for a blues journey, and quality music performed by quality musicians all converge towards excellent music and performances.

But there is a MAJOR problem with this album -- about 1/2 of the songs (any songs that have Souleyman Kane playing percussion on them) were extremely poorly recorded. The problem is that the percussionist plays some very loud percussion instruments (I have no idea what exactly they are) that sound exactly like people playing ping-pong. And he plays them loudly and constantly throughout the entire song -- so much so that it sounds like someone is playing a ping-pong game in front of my stereo, obscuring the vocals, guitars, and whatever else is on the recording! Those songs should be labled as "Souleyman Kane featuring other musicians and vocalists far in the background". He is a talented and interesting percussionist, don't get me wrong, but he's not the reason I'm listening to this music.

This sort of recording quality problem might be excused from a classic field recording made in the 1920's or 1930's, but there is absolutely no excuse for this sort of problem to be heard on a recording made in 2002 & 2003! OK, I realize that they made many of the recordings in remote Mali, but that is no excuse for the engineers not to listen back to the recordings and adjust the setup so that you can hear the instruments in proper balance (I've done a bit of recording engineering myself in the past, so I know a bit about the subject). I could even excuse this issue if it only existed for a song or 2 if they noticed and then corrected it, but it is really problematic throughout 8 of the 15 songs!

You may think I'm just a stickler for a good recording, but I am not -- it REALLY detracts from enjoying the music -- after a while you'll find that the only thing you're hearing on the songs is the ping-pong sound. Check out some of the other reviews if you don't believe me -- I'm not the only one commenting on this.

If you decide to buy this CD, you will probably find yourself listening to the whole thing once and then subsequently programming your CD player to play only the 7 songs on the disc without the percussionist. Then you'll have a 5-star (if short) CD. Otherwise I give this 5 stars for 7 of the songs, 2 stars for the other 8, averaging out to about 3 stars.

The CD insert has a great quote "the roots of a tree cast no shadow". It is attributed to no one, on the sleeve it simply says, "As they say". I don't know who "they" are but after listening to this CD, "they" are right. The roots are presented exquisitely from "Mississippi to Mali". One can hear it in the notes, the rhythms and the sounds of the instruments and it clearly speaks one word, "Blues".

It starts right out with a beautiful acoustic solo song titled "Coahoma". The sweet guitar picking and slide work are just a peek into what is to come. Roots Blues at its best. The next song has a feel of a front porch somewhere in the south with "Corey" on vocals, guitar, "Bobby Rush" on harmonica and "Sam Carr" on drums performing the traditional "Big Road Blues".

"The idea for this CD came about through my participation in Martin Scorsese"s PBS series, The Blues". "Corey Harris". The African connection begins to make it self known as Corey Harris plays vocals and guitar on the "Skip James" tune "Special Rider Blues" accompanied by "Ali Farka Toure" on njarka (a one string violin) and "Souleyman Kane on percussion. It is a haunting rendition of this classic. The rhythms of the njarka and "Souleyman's" percussion will make your hair stand on end.

"Tamalah" the title of the next track introduces "Ali Magassa" on backup vocal. "Ali Farka Toure" wrote this song. The lyrics are African and the music is blues. There is a sad soulful quality to this track with a solid backbeat.

"Back Atcha" by "Sharde Thomas" the granddaughter and prot�g� of fife and drum master Otha Turner. The CD is dedicated to him as he passed one week before he was to record for this project. It features "The Rising Star Fife and Drum band with Corey on vocals, guitar and "Sharde" on fife and vocals. This is Mississippi backcountry fife and drum at it's finest.

With "Rokie" the next track we find ourselves back to Mali enjoying sweet rhythms under a tree shaded from the sun. To quote "Corey Harris" "I wanted to demonstrate the living links between African music and African-American music, specifically the blues and its offspring: jazz, funk, r&b and hip hop. The connection has been made and done beautifully.

In the remaining tracks "Le Chanson Des Bozos" the living roots are clearly established. "Mr. Turner" is a slow blues featuring "Sam Carr" on drums and "Bobby Rush" on harmonica with "Corey Harris" on vocals and guitar. This has that old blues feel all the way through.

The traditional "Station Blues" with the "Rising Star Fife and Drum Band" is sure to get your toes tapping with its solid rhythms. Your sure to be impressed with the Africanized version of "Skip James" "Cypress Grove'. The feel of this CD is one of a labor of love and it is clearly evident connection between Mississippi and Mali, more to the point between African and African American music. The roots are there for all to see, if you let the music in.

The album ends with a moving rendition of "Blind Willie Johnson's" "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground" which showcases Corey's acoustic slide skills. This is fine body of work from a most reverent player of the blues.

Jack "Sulli" Sullivan

For this celebration of earthy acoustic music, scholar and bluesman extraordinaire Corey Harris trekked to Mississippi and Mali, West Africa, to make a series of modern field recordings. Stateside, Harris cut resonator slide tracks with fife-and-drum musicians; in Mali, his bandmates included the great Ali Farka Toure on guitar. The resulting performances -- a mix of traditional blues and African melodies, songs by Skip James and Blind Willie Johnson, and originals by Harris and Toure -- are as spontaneous and relaxed as a back porch pickin' session. Through his music, Harris reminds us of the rhythmic, melodic, and spiritual connection between traditional African sounds and early American blues. If you're bummed by the slick production values of contemporary blues guitar albums, the dry, present tones and relentless funk of these tracks will set you right.

Yesterday I came home with six albums plucked from a 500Yen (about four dollars and change) bin and this was the first one I listened to. Three cuts into it I told myself that, even if none of the others panned out, the money would have been well spent. Fusion/techno/trans/synth lines/house/break - read the other reviews - I'm not sure what all of that adds up to, but Issa Bagayogo had me dancin' in the kitchen. Very groovy music.

For the most part my musical tastes are all over the place, rooted in Hendrix, The grateful dead, Zep, Pat Metheny, Fela, the blues, jazz, funk, etc. Issa's Timbuktu and Toussomakan are delightful combinations of percussive, trans-type, hypnotic grooves that should proove to be wonderful additions to anyone's musical collection who has an open mind and is looking expand their horizons.

When I first heard Issa, it was at a performance at an outdoors amphitheater and was hooked ? I rushed out to get his latest CD. He combines traditional West African music with modern electronica into a most distinctive contemporary sound, which is easy to listen or/and to dance. I enjoyed this CD very much and would highly recommend it!

I'm not in the habit of writing these things...however I am so enthralled by this music I felt I had to share my thoughts. The CD is a good introduction to the immense variety of music coming out of Africa. My favorites are Ndima Npapedza (#1) by Oliver Mtukudzi and Wassiye (#7) by Habib Koite'. The music is fun and yet has depth to it. I listen to it and while I'm tapping my toes, my soul is singing right along. I recommend this one highly.

"Africa" was one of the first world music CD's I bought - I was involved in a show which included African and African-influenced music and I wanted to do some first hand audio research. This CD is just amazing! One of the things which immediately struck me was the beautiful and distinctive guitar work on many of the tracks, particularly those by Oliver Mtukudzi, Habib Koite, and Les 4 Etoiles. Other noteworthy instrumental work includes the B-3 organ intro on the Soul Brothers' "Thandaza", and the accordion featured in Sam Mangwana's "Ya Mbemba". There are also soul-stirring vocals featuring gorgeous harmonies (like Oom's "Anoma") and alternating call-and-response type melodies, and best of all, a wide variety of really cool grooves - each track has its own unique flavor. My favorites are Johnny Clegg and Juluka's "Love Is Just A Dream", Samba Ngo's "Sa Ntima" and Ricardo Lemvo's "Manuela", but really, there isn't one track here I don't love - five years after buying this CD it's still one of my favorites! I have since gone on to buy more CD's by several of the artists featured here, as well as by other African artists. I've also bought many of Putumayo's other compilations, which all serve as great introductions to a variety of artists as well as to many types of world music. By all means I recommend buying "Africa" - you won't regret it, but I warn you, you won't stop here :)

I have a bar & grill in Bogota Colombia and I play this and other Putumayo CDs to provide an interesting atmosphere. #8 is my favorite, it makes you move and groove. Customers constantly ask about these CDs.

This has to be the ultimate compendium of these undeservedly neglected arias. Many of the arias themselves rival the most glorious moments in the operas, and some of them, particularly the high soprano arias, are highly-charged vocal stuntfests that have to be heard to be believed.

This set has much to recommend it but does have one major technical flaw. Every copy that I have heard (and that is several) has a skip near the end of Track 10 of Disc 1. It seems to be part of the master and many listeners will be able to live with it, but I do wish that producers would take the time to fix a defect like this for such a significant musical document. Purists beware!

Love the product and received it record time overseas. Thank you!

The LA Reviewer said it all and I totally agree. The sound is wonderful and singing top notch. A great discovery and a must for any opera collector. Mozart gets better the more you listen to his opera compositions - the set contains many of the outstanding arias not always done in concert but which are lovely and some rediscoveries. Also, our recent loss of Winbergh makes this a buy as we don't have alot of recordings of his beautiful tenor voice. This set features him on 4 arias and his Mozart singing is truly outstanding. This set of 5 CD's a great value and highly recommended.

Fans of West African kora music may be familiar with "New Ancient Strings," the wonderful duet recording made by two Malian kora virtuosos in the late 1990s. One of the players on that session, Toumani Diabate, is certainly the most famous kora player alive today, and has made a slew of recordings in his own name and in collaboration with nearly every major Malian musician, as well as some Western ones (Taj Mahal and Bruce Cockburn to name just two).

The other player, Ballake Sissoko, is much less well-known, but with "Deli" he demonstrates that he's Toumani's equal in many respects. His playing is just as magical, and on this disc he adds other colors to his musical palate. The kora, balafon (marimba), and ngoni (lute) make up the "big three" of traditional griot instruments, and on this disc they are joined by the bolon, another kind of Malian harp with a deep bass sound. All the musicians in Sissoko's small ensemble are amazing players, and the blend they achieve is marvelous. This recording may lack the lush reverberation that marked "New Ancient Strings"--it was recorded in a studio instead of a hall--but its crisp sound allows the other instruments to come into their own.

Sissoko varies his arrangements so as to cover a range of different sounds. His wife Mama Draba contributes vocals on three of the 11 tracks; one track is solo kora, while another is a kora-balafon duet; the remaining six feature the instrumental quartet. It makes for more diverse and engaging listening than Toumani Diabate's "Djelika" (which featured his trio of kora/balafon/ngoni).

"Deli" is a must for kora-lovers, and makes a great complement to "New Ancient Strings." It's ironic that instrumental recordings like those that we have previously heard from Diabate and Sissoko, and which are considered by many as the epitome of "traditional" West African music, aren't widely listened to in their home country. Malians generally prefer to hear singers, not kora, balafon or anything else, as the musical centerpiece. "Deli," with its mix of stylings both vocal and instrumental, might be an effort to gain a wider audience in Mali. I hope it succeeds in that respect.

Under Ballak� Sissoke's fingers the kora's twenty one strings come alive with inimitable resonant sounds in a way that few can match. This unique harp-like instrument of the Mandigue people has its roots in the 15th century. It is best learned at a young age as it takes tremendous skill to master it and mature talent to create the complex compositions designed for it. Cascading sounds of the kora blending into gentle melodies are inviting the other three instruments to explore the tunes and rhythms. It reminds me of a jazz jam session. The harmony between the musicians is evident.

The pieces, all arranged by Sissoko, show great variety in beat and mood. The accompaying musicians on "D�li" are well known soloists in their own right - two are also sons of famous musician fathers. They play the ngoni and the balafon. Both these instruments have an even longer tradition than the kora, being mentioned in the 12th century - the time of Soundiata Ke�ta, founder of the great Mandingue empire. Sissoko and his friends successfully bring the sounds of traditional Mali music into modern times.
The majority of the pieces are instrumental: kora solo, kora and balafon or compositions for all four instruments. Three songs feature Sissoko`s wife Mama Draba. Less known internationally than Oumou Sangar� or Kandia Kouyat�, her strong voice resonates with traditional "griot" stories and beautifully complements the sounds of the instruments.

Ballake Sissoko, distant cousin of Toumani Diabat�, and like him, a son of one of the great kora musicians of Mali, has distinguished himself as a virtuoso musician. Fans of kora music like "New Ancient Strings", which features the two masters of the younger generation, will want to add "D�li" to their collection. Highly recommended for newcomers to West African music too. [Friederike Knabe]

I don't know much about African music - but this is definitely an album that everyone can enjoy.

A canny world-beat interweaving of West African pop and jazz-tinged, tres, tres Euro electronica. Keita's high, keening vocals -- pure Mali -- cut through the tightly-wound, somewhat fastidious arrangements in a manner that makes the whole project mesh together better than one might imagine. This album is very much a creature of programming-heavy modern studio production, but it has a certain soulfulness and innovative breadth that makes it sound original and appealing. I find it a little too slick, yet also an album that wins me over the more I listen to it... worth checking out!

I just listened to this cd from my local shop & from the 1st track I couldn't get enough of this music.It's filled with a jazzy piano, soulful African guitar sound, balafon, Malian drums,etc. It's beautiful but the marketing is on Mamani keita's voice, i haven't heard an African voice in a jazzy set up like this cd.Her vocals keep that traditional feel & blend so well with the morden instruments.The cd may be too "morden" for some people who prefer the traditional instruments only but the truth is this cd is unbeivable good with morden & traditional instruments.The percussion also may be too much for the music itself but that is a cherry on cream esp. for rock fans.This cd is dynamic and will take you by surprise in a way U never expected.Also recommended is Soukuba Bambino-Kasse cd.The previous reviewer has said enough & i won't say more.

This CD was my first exposure to West African music. Surprise! They aren't limited to bongo drums and acapella chants! I've fallen in love with several of the songs on this CD, and so have my children. We are now tracking down and collecting the CD's of the artists we enjoyed most! Great variety.

This is the perfect introduction to West African music. Some of the songs are absolutely captivating (Oumou Sangare and Ali Farka Toure especially). Brilliantly sourced album.