Description
Malian kora player Toumani Diabateacute received a Grammy for In the Heart of the Moon, his intimate collaboration with the late, great African guitarist Ali Farka Toureacute. That recording was part of a threepart series called The Hotel Mandeacute Sessions, which was recorded at Bamako, Malirsquos Hotel Mandeacute by Nick Gold and his World Circuit team, including longtime engineering collaborator Jerry Boys Buena Vista Social Club. In July 2006, World Circuit Nonesuch released another album from the series, the debut of Diabateacutersquos panAfrican Symmetric Orchestra, Boulevard de LrsquoIndeacutependance. A fivestar review by Londonrsquos The Times said, ldquoif there is any justice, the Malian master of the West African harp known as the kora should pick up another GRAMMY for his new record because there wonrsquot be a better African album this year.rdquo The Independent gave the album four stars and called it ldquoa triumph.rdquo For over a decade, Diabateacute and his Symmetric Orchestra performed almost every Friday night at Bamakorsquos Hogon club. They became one of the most popular bands in the cityrsquos vast music scene, celebrated across West Africa and beyond. Like the albumrsquos titlemdashtaken from the main road that bisects Bamakomdashthe grouprsquos name refers to a balance between tradition and progress music preserved from the Mandeacute Empire that once connected West Africa and contemporary dancemusic styles. The Symmetric Orchestra comprises players from Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and Mali, and its instrumentation includes electric guitar, bass, and drums, as well as the more traditional kora, ngoni, and balafon. Boulevard de lrsquoIndeacutependance captures the Symmetric Orchestrarsquos singular sound, which in nine tracks spans everything from ageold Mandeacute standards to CubanSenegalese salsa. The album was recorded in two weeks of allnight sessions and features a string section, a horn section arranged by Pee Wee Ellis, and singers including the local hero Kasse Mady Diabateacute. Fiftyfourth in a hereditary line of master musicians and griots, Toumani Diabateacute is simultaneously revered as the guardian of an ancient musical tradition and as a bold, boundarycrossing experimentalist. He has earned acclaim for inventive solo records as well as collaborations with Blurrsquos Damon Albarn, American bluesman Taj Mahal, and the flamenco group Ketama, among others.