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An album from Idrissa Soumaoro, former guitarist from the glory days of Les Ambassadeurs during the time of Salif Keita, Mory Kante, and Kante Manfila, and more recent recipient of the position of Knight of the National Order of Mali. After a long period of working in music education for the blind, along with side trades to support his large family, as well as a period of time in hotel bands (the major form of income for a Malian musician), he's now gone more into a solo career (finally!), focusing on the guitar as his primary instrument despite a high level of ability on a multitude of instruments. The album is full of "kote," a self-created form of Soumaoro's that incorporates elements of theater, humor, and satire, but sounds like, essentially, acoustic blues with a small chorus of backup singers. The songs are split between French and Bambara, with a decent leaning toward the Bambara end, which is fortunate for the listener, as it lends itself much better to the guitar forms with a more plaintive sound. The traditional lyrical content of the old values and ideals of the culture come through strongly in the songs, in much the same vein as a number of other contemporary African artists. When stepping out from the framework of the blues, Soumaoro tends to work his way into ballads relatively quickly, which often works quite well, with the addition of an accordion and harmonica from a couple of stray French musicians. For the purer form of the African blues, one ought to look into Ali Farka Toure before picking up this album, but for the sheer songwriting ability and musicianship all around, Soumaoro manages to hold together a wonderfully tight ship. The songs might not stray much, but they run a straight course at a high level that's worth hearing.

© Adam Greenberg /TiVo