Griot from Senegal in Bloomington, MN

From a former member of the
Africando
group comes this sophomore solo effort,
Griot from Senegal
. Though
Pape Kanoute
was originally trained on the sax, he does a fine job with the kora here, exploiting it for all its sonic qualities to make a more fully African sound, although he takes plenty of off-roads taken along the way. Beyond the kora, there are a good deal of Western-esque string arrangements. There's some heavy talking drum work here and there to propel the music forward when the kora seems to be getting stuck in a loop. There's also some decent work on what sounds like a struck-bow midway through the album, adding another aspect to the mix of sounds. In large part, it's an essentially traditional album of kora work with a couple of old pieces and a number of new compositions for the instrument. There are perhaps more virtuosic players out there (
Jali Musa Jawara
,
Toumani Diabate
), but then again, the focus here isn't just on the kora, but on the kora in combination with the talking drum, as well as the all-important lyrics. The final product here can certainly compete with those of the other major players on the scene. It's a good starting point for exploration into the vast array of music available from the various griot traditions. ~ Adam Greenberg