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All Reviews >>

One reason Mali's maverick singer/songwriter/guitarist/bandleader Habib Koite opted for a live album this time around is that he didn't want to face the task of writing a new set of songs. His 1995 debut, Musa Ko drew on ten years of stored up compositions. Then for Maya (1998) and Baro (2001), he wrote all the material in a single, arduous marathon before recording. Meanwhile, Koite and his band Bamada have been touring fiends, polishing and extending the existing songs through endless repetition in nightclubs and concert halls around the world. Koite's live show is one of the great experiences in world music today, and this double CD, recorded at various European shows in 2001 and 2002, takes you as close to that as you'll get without a concert ticket.

Songs are literally transformed with the addition of new guitar, percussion and balafon breaks, musical interludes born of collective, on-stage inspiration, even a rap passage by Koite that serves as a link between "Saramaya" and an incendiary "Cigarette Abana." Koite's guitar playing was always innovative and highly musical. Now it is downright masterful. To hear him dig into the strings on the takamba flavored "Fatma" or the barnburner "Nimato," is riveting, flourishes flying with breathtaking conviction and skill. The venerable balafonist Keletigui Diabaté also gets a number of solos including a playful exchange with Koite's guitar on "Konime" and a slightly schticky venture into swing jazz on a 16-minute version of "Kunfeta."

The album breaks out into a more subdued, introspective first CD--"Muso Ko," "Batoumambe," "Imada" and others--and a fiery, jamming second one--"Nanale," "Nimato," "Wassiye," "Kunfeta." This contrast gives the two-and-a-half hours of music here a nice trajectory. In all, this may be the most satisfying live CD an African band has ever recorded. It is technically beautiful, but more than that, it takes brilliant songs and transforms them through the crucible of unflagging live performance.

Habib Koite and Bamada 2004 tour dates

Contributed by Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org