The Whole Music Experience

World   Mamadou Kelly   Adibar   Clermont Music We are so fortunate these days to experience music of Mali.   Given events in recent years, where Muslim fundamentalists rounded up musicians, burned instruments, and cut off hands of Malian musicians, the musical spirit of Mali continued.   These days, a fragile peace reigns in Mali and we can only wonder about the powerful role music played in keeping hope alive and bringing a sense of solidarity. Malian guitarist and singer Mamadou Kelly brings us Malian grooves on his album Adibar .   Teaming up with Niafunke musicians that produced Ali Farka Toure and Afel Bocoum’s albums, we are reminded here of Ali Farka Toure’s snaky desert blues.   While guitar is the main instrument with Malian blues vocals, we also hear the traditional calabashes (percussion), spike fiddle (ndjarka), a mandolin-like instrument (djourkel) and bass.   The end result is chill-out music, moving at a slo...

Putumayo Presents African Blues Putumayo World Music (Release Date: April 24, 2012) While many world music listeners think of Mali when the topic of African blues comes up, African blues it seems traverses the African continent.  Personally, I’m glad that Putumayo World Music pointed that out to me with African Blues --a compilation that features plenty of groovy Malian blues, but also includes Taj Mahal’s collaboration with Culture Musical Club of Zanzibar, which by the way, is nowhere near Mali.  As it turns out, the track, Dhow Countries by Taj Mahal Meets Culture Musical Club of Zanzibar is my favorite song on the compilation.  Mahal’s dusky signature wed to the Arabic strings of the Zanzibar orchestra hits the spot.  Besides, it is the only song sung in English so I can understand the story in the song. So you’re wondering who else appears on the compilation.  The usual suspects such as Tinariwen (a Tuareg rock band from Mali), who teams up...