Djeli

With Ba Cissoko, great musicianship is always guaranteed. A kora player from Guinea, he is perhaps still best known for that inventive 2006 album Electric Griot Land, in which he set out to match traditional West African influences against Western pop, with help from the likes of special guests, including Tiken Jah Fakoly and K'Naan. There has been a series of albums since then, and now comes a new fusion set that is notable mostly for his instrumental work. He is best-known as a kora player, but he starts out here playing ngoni (lute) and then switches to guitar, leaving the kora work to the excellent Karamoko Bangoura. Cissoko finally moves on to the instrument he's famous for in a set that's aimed at the Western market with songs that are classy, pleasant but at times somewhat forgettable. There are well-sung easy-going reggae tracks and ballads, along with the traditional-sounding ‘Mamadou’, which is suddenly transformed by saxophone and electric guitar, while on the rolling ‘Djeguema’ there's even a dash of salsa piano. But what makes the album special are three exquisite instrumental tracks, in which Cissoko shows off his skills first on solo acoustic guitar, then solo ngoni, and finally kora, being joined by Bangoura for the set's climax.