Toumani Diabate’s The Mande Variations is gorgeous and was the first Kora album I’ve ever listened to. The Kora is a, “Harp unique to Africa with 21 strings.” It indeed sounds like a harp or a dulcimer that is plucked quickly. That was the first impression that I got while listening to the first track. The album is meditative and angelic in sound, yet it is also suspenseful as you never know where Diabate’s improvisation will take you. The music on this album features him free styling, and is both introspective and serene. It is baroque sounding but with more of an African/Eastern flare. Dream like, peaceful, and tranquil, it is also wild and frantic and percussive as well. That is because Diabate can play bass, rhythm and solo on the Kora at the same time, making it sound like there are other instrumentalists on the recording, when in fact he is the only one on the record.
Diabate comes from a long line of musicians. His family history has 71 generations of musicians. He is famous for bringing the Kora into the world spotlight and has worked with such musicians like the American Jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd and Icelandic pop singer Bjork. Heavy on improvisation, Diabate is self taught even though his father was a famous Kora player as well. He began playing the Kora at the age of 5 and was born in the West African country of Mali. His other albums include his 1988 debut Kaira which was recorded in London at the age of 21, and 1999’s Kulanjan which is a collaboration between him and Taj Mahal. In 2006, Diabate led and worked with a group called The Symmetric Orchestra which featured musicians on kora, djembe, balafon, and bolombatto,as well as modern ones like the guitar and electronic keyboard. They recorded a highly praised album called Boulevard de l’Independance and impressed audiences around the world with its magnificent sound.
—————————
Track Names
—————————
Si naani
Elyne Road
Ali Farka Toure
Kaounding Cissoko
Ismael Drame
Djourou Kara Nany
El Kabiyouna
Cantelowes
—————————
Artist: Album
—————————
Toumani Diabate: The Mande Variations
—————————
Genre
—————————
World
—————————
More Information
—————————
http://www.worldcircuit.co.uk
http://www.nonesuch.com
