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Review
Kora maestro Toumani Diabaté has a lot of legend to live up to. Although synonymous with the instrument ever since his sparkling international solo debut, Kaira (1988), The Mandé Variations is only his second solo disc. While Kaira introduced a new level of technical sophistication, it stuck to folkloric repertoire inherited from Mali's ancient Mandé empire, founded way back in 1235. This new album continues to develop kora technique and covers some of the same territory, but also ventures beyond the Mandé heartland for inspiration - with mixed results.
World Circuit's renowned production/recording team of Nick Gold and Jerry Boys have captured the kora's sound as never before, with an almost cinematic clarity. You can just about see Diabaté drawing breath, and the folds of his boubou brushing against one another as he picks over the strings. He seems to take an almost playful delight in the reverberations of the bass notes on Ali Farka Touré, his tribute to the late great 'desert blues' guitarist. But in attempting to evoke Ali's genius, Diabaté gets carried away in a pointless display of virtuoso trills that bear no relation to the great man's understated playing. If this were transposed onto electric guitar, it would sound like poodle rock excess. To a lesser extent, the same problem mars the only other completely improvised - and rather directionless - composition, El Nabiyouna, and even the coda of the otherwise gorgeous ten-minute opener, Si Naani.
Still, when Diabaté remains rooted in tradition (while both composing or reinterpreting ancient themes) the results are sublime. Elyne Road has a flowing, restful vibe, as does Ismael Drame. Kaouding Cissoko (dedicated to the late Senegalese kora player) is an engagingly dense, racing piece, and the closing Cantelowes has a wonderful, meditative groove, even if it does start with a quote from Morricone's The Good The Bad & The Ugly, as if to wind up purists.
It's laudable that Diabaté never stands still as an artist, but The Mandé Variations won't pass the Buena Vista dinner party test. Maybe he should keep his experimental tendencies and rockisms for his Symmetric Orchestra. --Jon Lusk
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Songlines magazine, April/May 2008 (issue #51
Toumani Diabaté is today for the kora (harp-lute) what Ravi Shankar was for the sitar 40 years ago - not just the outstanding virtuoso of his generation but a musician with the visionary genius to exert a profound influence far beyond world music. Just as Shankar influenced George Harrison and others, Toumani has already made an impact on the music of Björk, Damon Albarn and those at the more adventurous end of the rock spectrum.
If the album title was chosen to echo Bach's Goldberg Variations, it's a good analogy, for there's a courtly grace and elegance to these eight long, solo instrumental pieces. The effect is meditative - this is music for the head. And yet there is rhythm, too, of an astonishingly subtle complexity, although you'd have trouble dancing to it. Some have found the music's intricate, dignified counterpoint too austere to maintain concentration. Repeated listening pays dividends however - there's a voluptuousness in Toumani's endlessly varying contours of interdependent melody, harmony and rhythm that is quite engrossing. How a solo instrument recorded without overdubs can sound so lush and layered is remarkable - once again, Shankar comes to mind. Nor has the general seriousness of purpose dimmed Toumani's sense of fun - I am indebted to fellow music critic John Mulvey for pointing out that the opening phrases of `Cantelowes' are a playful quotation from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, a little riff Toumani picked up from Bassekou Kouyaté while recording his Djelika album back in 1995. This is a heroic record in every sense.
Nigel Williamson
If the album title was chosen to echo Bach's Goldberg Variations, it's a good analogy, for there's a courtly grace and elegance to these eight long, solo instrumental pieces. The effect is meditative - this is music for the head. And yet there is rhythm, too, of an astonishingly subtle complexity, although you'd have trouble dancing to it. Some have found the music's intricate, dignified counterpoint too austere to maintain concentration. Repeated listening pays dividends however - there's a voluptuousness in Toumani's endlessly varying contours of interdependent melody, harmony and rhythm that is quite engrossing. How a solo instrument recorded without overdubs can sound so lush and layered is remarkable - once again, Shankar comes to mind. Nor has the general seriousness of purpose dimmed Toumani's sense of fun - I am indebted to fellow music critic John Mulvey for pointing out that the opening phrases of `Cantelowes' are a playful quotation from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, a little riff Toumani picked up from Bassekou Kouyaté while recording his Djelika album back in 1995. This is a heroic record in every sense.
Nigel Williamson
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A modern masterpiece of Malian music.,
By
This review is from: The Mande Variations (Audio CD)
Toumani Diabate is a Malian master of the kora(a 21-stringed West African harp). 'The Mande Variations' is only his second solo album although Toumani has been a guest of various artists such as Ali Farka Toure('In The Heart of the Moon'), Bjork('Volta'), Taj Mahal('Kulanjan') and Roswell Rudd('Malicool'-see my review).
This beautifully recorded acoustic album is a masterpiece of traditional African music which should appeal to a wide audience and deserves to be a strong contender for World Music record of 2008.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Warning - highly addictive,
By
This review is from: The Mande Variations (Audio CD)
Toumani Diabaté, the kora guru of Africa, has outdone himself with this collection of solo instrumental pieces. The virtuosity in fingering the kora, the richness of the rhythms and range of melodies is unmatched by anything this Malian musician has done previously. I enjoyed his earlier solo collection, "Kaira", produced twenty years ago and his "New Ancient Strings" (1999), with which he and the younger Ballake Sissoko paid homage to their fathers' musical genius. Yet now, with this CD he has reached a level of maturity, depth and musicality not previously achieved. For fans of the West African kora, this is a must in their collection; for the "newbies", this is a great introduction into a mesmerizing aspect of Malian music and treat to enjoy over and over again. It will very likely become addictive. This is music to lose yourself in, over and over again.
Toumani Diabaté comes from a long line of Malian musicians. His father was the most famous kora player of his time and Toumani often pays credit to him through his music. Nonetheless, the younger Diabaté has refined the abilities of the instrument and enriched the playing techniques over the years. Elements of these could already be detected in the award winning In The Heart of the Moon, a collaboration with the legendary guitarist, the late Ali Farka Touré. Toumani, being largely self-taught, has been open to experimenting with this traditional instrument, without abandoning its unique sound and complex harmonies. As he traveled the world, he absorbed and learned from other musical cultures, such as Indian classical music, flamenco and blues. The compositions on this CD harmoniously integrate such influences with melodies and rhythms of the past. All are his, or presented in his adaptation. Soft melodies that seem to tell gentle stories alternate with more vivacious and energetic pieces. Not surprisingly, a special homage is included for Ali Farka that he would have treasured. Toumani's extraordinary technical skill lets him expand the fingering to incorporate the bass line as an accompaniment creating the impression that two koras are playing. Furthermore, recently Toumani has been experimenting, successfully as the pieces here exemplify, with two differently strung koras, one for the traditional melodies and harmonies, the other for his more "modern" compositions. The photos in the included booklet show the details of the finger settings. The explanations of the background to the two kora stringings and insights into the stories behind each piece are written by the musician himself. A beautiful gift to yourself or for people you care deeply about. [Friederike Knabe]
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Mande Variations - Toumani Diabate,
By
This review is from: The Mande Variations (Audio CD)
This is quite quite beautiful.... A gorgeous thing.... A masterpiece of musical virtuosity.... Listeners should check out "In the heart Of the Moon" (recorded with Ali Farka Toure) also....
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