Dance

Since her debut as a leader in 1986, the Munich-born New Yorker has recorded a further 23 albums, of which this is the fourth in the company of her propulsive Senegalese rhythm section: electric bassist Mamadou Ba and percussionist Eladji Alioune Faye. Th e jazz guitarist (whose husband Mike was Miles Davis’ chosen guitarist for a spell) has been described as a ‘genre-defy ing adventurer.’ Her blend of jazz and West African rhythms may not be everyone’s world music brew, but her credentials are exemplary: ten previous African-themed albums, an alumnus of Mali’s Festival in the Desert, multiple performances with Salif Keita, and having been mentored on her secondary ngoni by Bassekou Kouyaté.

The Argentinian pianist Leo Genovese is now established in the keyboards chair and his rock-solid ‘Kani (Hot Pepper)’, in which his piano twists and turns around Stern’s guitar and wordless Flora Purim-esque vocals, might be the standout track, although the band’s arrangement of the traditional griot song, ‘Daouda Sane’, comes close. But all eight cuts boast strong hooks, flawless musicianship and a winning blend of melody and infectious rhythms. ‘Listening back to the tracks after the recording session,’ she reveals, ‘the energy seemed so upbeat and uplifting.’ I second that emotion.