I’ve been planning out a trip to Mali & Senegal for a few months & I’m getting ready to leave soon. I failed in persuading Amato to come along– although I have a feeling if it was Maui instead of Mali, it might have worked. Meanwhile ase two west African countries have incredibly rich musical traditions that have had immense impact on popular American music. I’ve been lucky to have introductions to musicians in both countries. I didn’t know much about Bassekou Kouyate– aside from a fact that he’s a cool ngoni player, did some work with Dee Dee Bridgewater & Taj Mahal & that he is at a Royal Albert Hall in London tonight & has a killer My Space page & a wonderful EPK. I’ll write back from Bamako after I see him play live in a few weeks. For now, I hope you enjoy his music as much as I do.

Original post by Howie Klein and software by Elliott Back