Ismael Lo

Ismael Lo: Senegal

by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
January 27, 2007

For every world music enthusiast who celebrates musical cross-pollination, there's a naysayer bemoaning the risk that the mix will only produce a watered-down lowest common denominator. Of course the enthusiasts have lots of support for their position: Youssou N'Dour's Egypt (Nonesuch, 2004) masterfully combined Senegalese mbalax and Arabic classical music, while Thione Seck's Orientation (Stern's Africa, 2005) added Indian music to N'Dour's Senegalo-Egyptian mix with equally dazzling results.Sénégal, the first album of new material by Ismaël Lo in ...