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Kasse Mady, it seems, has lived all sides of the Afropop story. Born to a fabled griot family in Kela, Mali, he emerged early as a gifted singer of tradition, only to be recruited to the capital, Bamako, to sing in a band playing Cuban music: Las Maravillas de Mali, later National Badema du Mali. During the late 1980s, Kasse Mady dove into the Paris scene, producing a landmark acoustic album (Koulandjan Kela), and a high-production crossover work (Fode), in the manner of Salif Keita. Along the way, Kasse Mady has participated in ground-breaking experimental projects, such as Toumani Diabate's Manding/flamenco project Songhai, Hank Jones' jazz-meets-Mali foray (Sarala (Verve)), and Taj Mahal's Kulanjan album in 1999.

But the golden-throated griot of Kela has never lost track of his roots, and on this, his most personal album ever, he returns to them in force, bringing together musicians from Bamako and Kela for a ranging, down-home session recorded in Kela proper. These crisp, natural recordings, produced by Lucy Duran originally for the Mexican Corason label, are simple and unadorned by overdubs and studio processing. Balafon, ngonis, acoustic guitars, and djembe drum are the dominant elements, but as Kasse Mady revisits the key musical settings of his varied career, different instrumental colors emerge.

Two Cuban-tinged songs--"Maimouna," a hit from Badema days, and the Orquesta Aragon hit "Balomina Mwanga"--bring in flute, but otherwise render Cuban cadence using just the traditional sounds of Kela. Two songs draw on the town's deep hunters' tradition, and feature the metal-stringed simbi, perhaps the oldest of Malian harps. Among many Manding music pieces here, Kasse Mady revisits his crossover hit, "Fode," in a gorgeous acoustic rendition he calls "Kaba Mansa." In all these contexts, Kasse Mady's clear, powerful, one-of-a-kind voice shines. There's a casual, informal feel to these sessions, but that voice convey's the singer's evident joy and pride to be bringing it all back home.

There are some noteworthy guests here too. Kasse Mady's famous singing brother Lafia Diabaté lends his lustrous voice on a few tracks. Two veterans of the Kulanjan project, Basekou Kouyaté on ngoni and Lassana Diabaté on balafon, contribute throughout, and on one standout track, "Funuke Saya," the elusive kora master himself, Toumani Diabaté, joins Kasse Mady and Basekou in a warm, wonderful moment of intimate virtuosity. This is an important record because it encapsulates volumes of ancient and modern musical history in the context of a contemporary village field recording. In a golden age of Mali music releases, this one stands alone.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org