Bela Fleck and Malian Kora Master Toumani Diabate Lay Down “Ripple Effect,” For 3CD/1DVD Set ‘Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Most of you know that the banjo originated in West Africa, so banjo master Bela Fleck was almost obligated to explore the instrument’s roots at some point. After all, there may not be a more explorative musician than Fleck who has won 15 Grammys in nine different categories, stretching from country to pop to jazz to classical and world music.  Fleck says, “I knew that my beloved instrument had originally come from West Africa. And, from time to time I found tantalizing tidbits of African acoustic music that gave me the confidence to know that there was a phenomenal amount of incredible stuff going on under the radar.” Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions documents this journey with two volumes of music across three CDs and a DVD capturing the acclaimed documentary Throw Down Your Heart which is the basis for two of the CDs. Ripple Effect, the third one, is Fleck’s duo collaboration with kora master Toumani Diabate and is also available as a standalone 2-LP set. They all are available in digital formats as well.

The original project drew raves when first released in 2009. The catalyst was former Flecktone saxophonist Jeff Coffin who played Fleck a recording form Malina singer Oumou Sangare. “I was literally stunned,” said Fleck. I’d had this reaction only a few times – when music was so compelling that everything had to stop while I listened. Earl Scruggs’ banjo did it to me. Chick Corea’s music did it to me.  And so did this.” Remarkably it turned out the Sangare was managed by an old friend from Fleck’s early bluegrass days. A meeting happened along with some jamming and Sangare invited Fleck to visit Bamako, Mali, and play with her and some of her friends. Sascha Paladino, the film producer of Disney fame, who was the filmmaker for the documentary, worked out a three-nation itinerary with Fleck based on friendship and a bit of serendipity to explore the music and culture of Africa.  These recordings with multiple players comprise two of the CDs in the set and are the soundtrack for the documentary. Most of it has been previously released but there are 14 previously unreleased bonus tracks. Fleck says, “a nonstop set of intense, powerful and joyful musical interactions. Every day for five weeks, I was meeting musicians, and filming pieces with them in their homes, other unconventional locations, and even on rare occasions – recording studios. We recorded/films over 30 pieces so it came out to something like a tune per day while we were there.”

So, the recent news here is the new collaboration with kora master Diabate, whose eclectic genre-crossing tastes rival Fleck’s. In addition to his native traditional music, Diabate has collaborated with flamenco group Ketama, forming a combined group known as Songhai and releasing two recordings: Songhai I and Songhai II.  In 1999, he collaborated with legendary blues musician Taj Mahal on the release Kulanjan. MALIcool is a collaboration with American jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd. He also collaborated with the Icelandic popular musician Björk on her 2007 album Volta. And, perhaps the most famous of his collaborations, up until now, was with fellow Malian Ali Farka Touré. In 2005  they released In the Heart of the Moon, which won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album. He’s been collaborating since then too. 

The Ripple Effect is the duo collaboration before an appreciative live audience(s) pairing Fleck’s banjo with the kora, a 21-string instrument that has a sound that lies somewhere between a harp and a lute. Consider this music from 26 strings. This writer first became familiar with the kora through Johnny Clyde Copeland’s 1985 Bringin’ It All Back Home, one of the first recordings by an American musician in West Africa. The music of West Africa, especially Mali for its blues roots, has become more popular both in blues and world music circles since then. Eric Bibb’s 2018 album, Global Griot, for example, features the kora on some selections. Diabate and Fleck, though, are considered the prime masters of their respective instruments so their set is especially impressive.

There’s so much to digest here and hopefully, you’re not too confused with the depth and breadth of this expansive set. You have some choices. Dig in and enjoy.

 

Related Content

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter