Good Golly, it's Mali

One of the first CDs I bought was inspired by listening to NPR. As an "elitist" radio network, it often has interesting suggestions for music. From folk music to indie rock, NPR spans the non-pop musical tastes. I bought a CD that was a collaboration between a Norwegian folk singer and two West African musicians. From that point on, I bought a lot of Afropop, including a few CDs by Ali Farka Toure.

Toure has been compared to John Lee Hooker, a bluesman that I'm unfamiliar with. Toure has often been called a Mali bluesman, even though I prefer his blues over traditional blues. His blues are suffused with local religious chants. I don't understand a word of it. Even so, I like the sound of his voice serving as another instrument.

I bought other CDs from Mali musicians, including Toumani Diabate, who plays the kora. The kora is multi-stringed instrument that sounds a bit like a harp. Diabete is considered something of a prodigy when it comes to kora playing. His father played the kora, and even played with the much older Toure.

Neither had released an album in years. Ry Cooder, who helped produce the Buena Vista Social Club, about octogenerian Cuban singers, and who has collaborated before with Toure, must have thought what a wonderful idea it must be to get these two kings of Mali music together to jam. He made the trip out to Mali, and the result is In the Heart Of the Moon.

The meshing of the two styles is a bit strange, sort of like a classical musician working with a country singer. Stranger things have happened (Yo Yo Ma has recorded albums of Appalachian music). Reportedly, they picked songs that were popular during the time of Mali independence.

I'm still working my way through this album, as I've collected a large number of CDs lately. These include:

• Iron and Wine Woman King
  
• The Cloud Room The Cloud Room
  
• The Weakerthans Left and Leaving
  
• Kronos Quartet and Asha Bhosle You've
  Stolen My Heart
  

Many of these are quite recent, meaning I just acquired them in the last day or
two. Some were suggested by NPR. Some, I just listened to at Amazon.

Ah, tis Wednesday, and it's time to watch Lost.