Idrissa Soumaoro

As well as performing on guitar and ngoni, Idrissa is composer of all the material here. While keeping mainly true to the roots of Malian music, Kote adds some nice touches here and there, highlighting the transatlantic kinship with down-home blues harmonica or flute commentary. There are a couple of pieces that depart comfortably from the Malian tradition without sacrificing Idrissa's musical integrity. Their romanticism, liquid accordion runs and wistful melody call to mind a gentler era of palm wine music. Nice stuff, but don't expect to have your gut wrenched.