Hakili Kélé

The veteran Malian griot Mah Damba believed she had recorded her final album when she made 2010's À l'Ombre du Grand Baobab. She had dedicated it to the memory of her husband, ngoni player and lifetime musical collaborator Mamaye Kouyaté, who died in 2009. She had lost the desire to carry on without him: ‘We were a team in perfect osmosis.’

We can thank the persuasive powers of French guitarist Thierry Fournel for her return. He not only arranged and produced this fine comeback, but also rounded up her musical family for support; her two daughters sing backing vocals, her son plays guitar and her nephew Makan Badjé Tounkara takes over from her late husband on ngoni. The result is a terrific record, steeped in acoustic Mande and Bamana traditions and sung by Mah in a throat roar that climbs and descends the octaves with startling power or subtle nuance as required. ‘Sosoly’ is a raw and earthy reworking of a tune she first recorded in 1988. ‘Banga’ is a slow desert blues on which she wails soulfully like a West African Rosetta Tarpe. ‘Kabako’ is another old favourite, driven by some mesmerising stringed interplay involving guitar, ngoni and gimbri, while ‘Dondori’ shows a more adventurous spirit with the addition of French accordion. This is one great comeback.