Cross-Cultural Collaboration in the Blues .You just have to see it, hear
it. Featuring Tumani Diabeta & Taj Mahal.

Goto>
http://www.juffureproduction.com/theconnection.ram

Kulanjan is one of the oldest pieces in the repertoire of the West African
griots. Some say it's the source of all their music. When Taj Mahal first
heard Kulanjan, played by the legendary kora master, Sidiki Diabate, he
was deeply touched. For twenty years he has been carrying this song around
with him, dreaming of a project that would join the blues he was playing
and Kulanjan's roots in West Africa. This dream came true in April 1999
when Taj met Mali's greatest living kora player, Toumani Diabate (son of
Sidiki), and his group of 6 hand-picked traditional musicians.
They gathered in a studio on a tree-lined street in Athens, Georgia. The
close connection of their music became obvious from the very beginning.
The first day they jammed on the front porch; the second day, they
recorded it. They continued this way until the record was finished-days
ahead of schedule. No rehearsals, no pre- or post-production. The ideas
and the sounds just came flowing, locking into each other seamlessly, as
if they were always meant to be exactly there.

The record features classic blues songs along with traditional griot
melodies, with Taj and the Malians accompanying each other with
ease. 'Queen Bee,' a song Taj has been reworking for 20 years, takes on a
completely new character in a duet with Ramatou Diakite's lucid
voice. 'Ol'Georgie Buck,' a work song Taj learned from Elizabeth Cotton,
transformed into a grooving Wassoulou gem, right there on the porch. The
most intimate moment of the record is 'K'an Ben,' featuring one of the
most powerful voices in Africa, Kassemady Diabate. It's song for a woman
leaving her home to get married. Kassemady's high flying, expressive griot
voice is accompanied by a quiet guitar and dobro.

Toumani's glittering, flowing, cascades of melody on the kora, perfectly
backed by Ballake Sissoko on second kora, add new spark to the pentatonic
blues scales in tunes like 'Catfish Blues' and 'Take this Hammer.' Toumani
has a successful history of cross-cultural encounters, from jazz to
flamenco-as does Taj, who has participated on over 40 records. But
Kulanjan is special: it's a milestone of artistic & personal
collaboration. This is not the end of a journey, it's the beginning.#


                                              Cheers Everyone!

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