M'Bemba

Moffou Salif Keita made his name with Rail Band and Les Ambassadeurs, but he gradually veered away from re-Africanized Latin tunes to explore his Mande birthright. Then, in the late 1980s, he released Soro, a potent blend of traditional sources, Western pop, and savvy studio electronica...	New Ancient Strings Back in the early '70s, a recording by kora masters Sidiki Diabate and Djelimadi Sissoko called Cordes Anciennes first brought this rich acoustic music of Mali to the world. More than 20 years later, their sons, the now world-famous Toumani Diabate and the junior Ballake Sissoko,...	Savane Savane, the great African guitarist and bluesman Ali Farka Touré's final solo studio album, was recorded in his native Mali toward the end of his life, when the artist knew his days were numbered. He spent his last years in his home village of Niafunké, concentrating on farmin...	The Best of Salif Keita: The Golden Voice 2004 compilation for the enduring world music star.	Boulevard de l'Independance Toumani Diabate, scion of one of Mali's oldest hereditary musical dynasties, was born into a few-centuries-worth of hard-acts-to-follow. But his output continues his father Sidiki's life-long exploration of the manifold possibilities of the kora, West Africa's glorious 21-string...
Folon The Mali superstar has kept a low profile since Amen (1991), his Joe Zawinul-produced bid for crossover stardom, and a new generation of Afro pop marvels led by Baaba Maal have stepped into the vacuum. Returning to Paris and working with producer/keyboardist Wally Badarou (ex-Lev...	In the Heart of the Moon Ali Farka Toure fans expecting to hear another fiery electric blues effort from the African John Lee Hooker are in for a big surprise. Toure's first album after a six- year hiatus is mostly an acoustic duo with kora master Toumani Diabate that draws upon Malian and Guinean folk s...	Afriki After a six year absence from the recording studio, Malian guitarist Habib Koité and his band Bamada return with a stunning new album. Afriki finds the group in fine form, and features an appealing set of songs that reflect Habib's unique approach to the diverse styles of Malian...	Dimanche a Bamako Having issued a handful of excellent Afro-rock albums on small independent labels in the last few years, which have attracted attention within the world music community, Amadou and Miriam are poised to break out with Dimanche A Bamako, arguably the best album of a career that goe...	Kaira This is a groundbreaking work establishing the 21-string kora as a solo instrument of great subtlety and range. Toumani Diabate is a virtuoso player and he delves into the classical West African kora repertoire with his masterful technique. The result is music that is both absolu...

NOT THAT GREAT
I am a big Salif Keita Fan and I've been following his music for the last 6 years. I know most people are not going to agree with this but M'Bemba is my least favorite album from all his collections. In my opinion the only song that stands out on this album is track # 2 " Leban" which I think is one of his best songs ever. I still believe " Folon....the Past" is his greatest work ever.

The golden voice
- admiring description given to Salif Keita's voice could not be more aptly applied to this, his most recent CD. The songs bring out his beautiful tenor set against the backdrop of the West African beat. His many years abroad have left their mark in his music combining rich harmonies with instrumentation that supports his extraordinary tonal presentation. Accompanied by a choral of his sisters and a range of acoustic and traditional instruments, he presents a good range of rhythms for his songs. After 35 years living abroad, he has finally returned to Mali and recorded this CD in his new studios in Bamako on the shore of the Niger river. Being albino, he was rejected by his family as a bad omen. Also, as a young man intent to pursue his musical ambitions he had to leave Mali and abandon the privileges of his noble descent. As an internationally acclaimed musician, he has return to his roots. The themes of this collection centre around love, lost or found, as well as trust and respect for the wisdom of elders. His voice is warm and deeply moving when he sings in his native Bambara with some French thrown in. For M'Bemba, the title song, he is joined by Mali's kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate, adding a soft and gentle touch to the music. M'Bemba, meaning "grandfather" speaks about the importance of the griots, the ancestral singers of families, and his own ancestor, the famed king Sundiate Keita. I would be hard pressed to choose my favourites among the songs. It is a CD that one want to listen to many times over. The pieces also make great dance music. As has been shown recently in life performances, such as in my home town, where he got everybody up from their seats and swinging and dancing the night away. [Friederike Knabe]

This album is nominated for a Grammy
M'Bemba is nominated in the World category for the 49th Grammys. Love those Mali sounds!

Wow! Melodies, beats, great voice come together
You really don't have to understand the lyrics to be able to enjoy this cd. The music takes me on a jouney - it is calming but also very energizing in a positive way. I catch myself either tapping my foot or nodding my head side to side to most of the tracks on this cd. I've never heard of this artist, and never listened to any type of African music before. This was a random cd purchase, with a $15 gift certificate I had to burn, and just wanted something "different". Well, I got what I was looking for - and I love it!