Djelimady Tounkara / Solon Kono / World Music Review

Djelimady Tounkara
Solon Kôno
Marabi

Lead guitarist for the fabled Rail Band of Bamako since 1970 (now known as the Super Rail Band), Djelimady Tounkara is one of the most experienced and talented guitarists in West Africa. He has been receiving some attention apart from the Rail Band during the new millennium, first as a main protagonist in the 2000 memoir "In Griot Time," which describes his tutelage of author, guitarist and Afropop senior editor Banning Eyre, and with his first solo album Sigui in 2001.

As an architect of the Mande (or Manding) swing that emerged in the wake of Independence in Mali, Guinea, and Senegal, Tounkara's work remains solidly in that style. Like his contemporaries such as Orchestre Baobab and Bembeya Jazz, the influence of Latin and particularly Cuban styles is more evident in the music of Tounkara than it is in the music of other west African artists who are influenced significantly by reggae, hip-hop, blues, and R&B.

The highlight of the album is the lead track, "Fanta Bourama." Named for the Malian couple who hosted Tounkara's group in Berkeley, California, this gorgeous instrumental piece highlights Tounkara's guitar artistry and the rhythmic capability of the instrument in subtly stunning fashion. The other instrumental track, "Adama," is a duet with Samba Diabaté. Dedicated to Tounkara's wife, the piece does not reach the same level of intrigue as "Fanta Bourama." The majority of the album consists of midtempo pieces, which feature the vocals of Mountaga Diabaté, as well as Samba Sissoko, Yayi Kanouté, and Tounkara's daughter, Mariam "M'Baou" Tounkara. Typical of the Studio Bogolan style, however, the vocals remain balanced in the mix, which furthermore is happily free of excessive electronic instrumentation.

There is a bitter irony in the album's title, inspired by a traditional Malinke song sung by griots to encourage farmers in the field. Sadly, no Malian farmers will be encouraged by licensed copies of this album, as the leading record labels in Mali (Mali K7 and Seydoni), in response to unchecked cassette piracy, have been releasing no new music since May of 2005. Along with solo recent work by artists such as balafonist Keletigui Diabaté, Djelimady Tounkara's Solon Kôno suggests Africa's great instrumentalists deserve to step into the limelight more often. - Craig Tower

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