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Remembering Toumani Diabaté: MALIcool
by Ian Patterson
The passing of Malian kora griot Toumani Diabaté in July is a great loss to music. Born in Bamako in 1965, in post-independence Mali, Diabaté grew up playing traditional music. but as a leader he was a modernist from the get-go, collaborating with flamenco fusionists Ketama and English bassist Danny Thompson on the excellent Songhai (Nuevos Medios, 1988), as well as making fascinating albums with Taj Mahal and Béla Fleck. One of Diabaté's most rewarding musical partnerships was ...
Continue ReadingBela Fleck and Toumani Diabate: The Ripple Effect
by Doug Collette
The Ripple Effect is the coup de grace of Bela Fleck's ten year-plus excursion into the African roots of his chosen instrument of the banjo, originally titled Throw Down Your Heart (Rounder, 2009). Part of a larger set comprised of both video and audio on DVD/CD, The Complete Africa Sessions (Craft Recordings, 2020), these ten concert culls are also available as a double set of vinyl that capture the natural, fluent chemistry between this banjoist extraordinaire and West African kora ...
Continue ReadingToumani Diabate with Ballake Sissoko: New Ancient Strings
by AAJ Staff
Listeners who celebrate the music of today would do well to appreciate its roots. In the case of West African music, that means turning from Afro-pop and Afro-beat back to the traditional music of the Ancient Empire of Mali. The kora, a 21-stringed harp whose history dates back to the 13th century, is represented here. In the modern age, the kora has been eagerly adopted by jazz, flamenco, and electronic music. (Witness Mamadou Diabate's key role on Ben Allison's recent ...
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