The Whole Music Experience

World / Jazz Ablaye Cissoko/Volker Goetze Amanké Dionti Motema (2012) The world music duo Ablaye Cissoko, a griot kora player from Senegal and Volker Goetze, a trumpeter originally from Germany returned with another masterful recording, Amanké Dionti .   After the duo’s critically-acclaimed Sira (2008), which married a trumpet’s clear tones with the delicacy of a kora (West African harp) and Cissoko’s Senegalese vocals, transformed both world music and jazz.   Not long after, Sira came into the world, another Euro-African duo, Vincent Segal (France) and Ballaké Sissoko (Mali) wed cello with the kora (this duo has an album out in February 2013). When I listen to Amanké Dionti I wonder what Miles Davis or John Coltrane would have thought of the musical marriage.   The recording fits easily and comfortably into jazz and world music.   I would even squeeze it into world classical and if a new ager didn’t reflect on the socio-political messages ...

Ablaye Cissoko + Volker Goetze Sira Obliqsound Imagine the clear tones of a jazz trumpet mingling with the shimmering notes of the West African harp, (kora) with no other distractions. While there are many West African-European or North American fusion projects, many worthwhile, this is the first time I have heard jazz trumpet along side the kora. The result of this musical marriage falls nothing short of spectacular. I know little about jazz trumpeter Volker Goetze and Griot kora player Ablaye Cissoko since I only just heard of them a couple of weeks ago. However, I have become intimate with this recording, Sira (named after Ablaye's daughter). The trumpet playing reminds me of some of Miles Davis' work, but also Terrance Blanchard from New Orleans. The kora playing is also masterful and breathtaking as are Ablaye's vocals. The musical passages played on horn, kora or sung possess thoughtfulness and eloquence. Some of these passages also play in my thoughts a lon...