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TOUMANI DIABATÉ & SIDIKI DIABATÉ Toumani & SidikiWorld Circuit WCD087
From the opening statement of shimmering strings we enter a magical world. The high artistry of these two men, father and son, is immediately at work: the compelling grace of the rhythm, the exuberant departures from the base
pattern, the ability to give form to feeling. In a way, the field is already won simply by the extraordinary sound of the kora, the 21- string West African harp. You can be moved to tears by a ramshackle beach bum in the Gambia playing a kora for coins.
Malian Toumani Diabaté is generally rated as the finest living exponent of the glo- rious instrument. Winner of many awards, he has collaborated with flamenco players, Brazilians and bluesmen – and, outstandingly, with the late Ali Farka Touré. His duet album with Taj Mahal is apparently Barack Obama’s favourite. His son Sidiki is 23, a hugely popu- lar hip-hop artist, a stadium-filler in his own right. Yet he says he loves and respects his roots as a kora player, a member of a revered griot family: “It’s a dream to play with my father,” he says.
It wasn’t until last November that they played their first concert together, but the family link is clearly profound, a shared chan- nel. In griot memory it goes back 71 genera- tions. The understanding between the two is never less than intimate, frequently unbeliev- able. The way they manoeuvre, moving in and out, embellishing and accentuating, fin- ishing each other’s lines, is marvellous: state- ly, playful, elegiac and powerful by turns.
The album was recorded in London, more or less spontaneously. Just two koras, some tracks recorded without rehearsal, and no overdubs. The pieces are a mix of ancient relics and better-known classics, but the intention is not to recreate the past. It’s to play ancestral music in a modern way, by men who live in the modern world. ‘The past,’ says Toumani, ‘meets the present for the future.’
In recent months many Malian musicians have made a point of standing up for their country in the face of disaster and chaos from a puritanical insurgency whose excesses include trying to stamp music out. With this album Toumani wishes to show the positive side of Mali, the depth of music it holds. He and his son succeed handsomely.
www.toumaniandsidiki.com Rick Sanders Toumani & Sidiki Diabaté
CAHALEN MORRISON & ELI WEST
I’ll Swing My Hammer With Both My Hands Own label
This is music to make your soul soar. In their subtle instrumental intimacy, in their achingly close har- monies, in their earthbound lyrical metaphor, in their grounded and timeless American music, it’s hard not to wax lyrical about Cahalen
Morrison and Eli West.
This third duo album sees a further mat- uration of their musical trust and empathy; fine-honed craftsmanship which weaves a rich string-based tapestry, a warm honeyed tone and timeless soul songs – all digging deep in the tradition to create something new, and profoundly moving.
Cahalen and Eli don’t shout from the
rooftops. That’s part of the appeal. They cre- ate an atmosphere of apparent ease and flu- idity, belying their killer instrumental dexteri- ty on banjo, mandolin, bouzouki, dobro and, particularly, Eli’s diamond-fingered, driving guitar. Cahalen’s off-kilter, keening vocal is exquisite; sharply blended with Eli’s razor- width harmonies. Eli also takes on more of the vocal lead here; his pure tone a perfect fit for ‘hurting’ songs like Natural Thing To Do.
The duo are often cited as ‘musicians’ musicians’, borne testimony by Tim O’Brien’s intuitive production on this latest, the praise of Bruce Molsky and a fine array of instru- mental collaborators, including the visceral (often twin-) fiddle playing of Ryan Drickey and Brittany Haas.
Whilst Cahalen’s songwriting remains raw and lyrical, this album also reflects a new lightness of touch. There are fewer lowering storm-filled epics and more songs glowing with down-home warmth. A gifted poet, on songs like Fiddlehead Fern or the wistful anthem Down In The Lonesome Draw, he paints evocative word pictures reflecting his borderland heritage: “The fire it stands a blazing wick, the smoke it pours out honey thick. Down in the lonesome draw, the moon’s all snared in midnight’s jaws.”
As well as Morrison originals, the duo pay their dues to some masters of the tradition. They cast off an assured cover of classic Louvin Brothers’ Lorene and a tenderly handled ver- sion of Alice Gerrard’s Voices of Evening.
It rubber stamps my enduring love for
this pair. Their aim is true.
www.cahalenandeli.com
Sarah Coxson
Photo: Youri Lenquette
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