Sidiba

Ask any of your griot musicians from Mali, Senegal and the Gambia to name a favourite singer, and the one they invariably come up with isn't Oumou Sangaré or even the esteemed Kandia Kouyaté. Invariably, it is Bako Dagnon. An old school jelimuso (female griot) from the savannahs of western Mali, Dagnon sings in a voice that oozes wisdom and grace on this quite remarkable album, which happens to be only her second international release. Recorded back in 2009, with production by that legendary Senegalese Svengali, Ibrahim Sylla, Sidiba is a meeting of worlds old and new; an album that is unassuming and dignified, modest and impressive.

As some fascinating liner notes by Lucy Duran explain, Sidiba is effectively a musical summing-up of the life of the 60-something mother of four. Descended from a long line of ngoni (lute) players, a soothsayer predicted her ‘special destiny’ when she was a child. Despite a car accident that forced her early retirement from the prestigious Ensemble Instrumental du Mali, Dagnon stayed immersed in griot traditions, learning from elders in villages and eventually becoming a mentor to the likes of Kandia Kouyaté. Sidiba showcases both Dagnon's commitment and her musical prowess. With the aid of stellar instrumentalists such as electric guitarist Mama Cissoko, kamalengoni wizard Souley Kanté and, on ‘Le Guide de la Revolution’, the redoubtable Afro-beat drummer Tony Allen, Dagnon combines old and new. She interweaves a host of griot styles and purists will love ‘Nouhumba’. This is deep stuff.