That's one big guitar

I bought Mamadou Diabate's "Tunga" from Alula Records after hearing him play at a guitar festival in Champaign-Urbana this fall. The Malian kora player was on a blues bill with Rory Block (whose recent CD "From the Dust" is great) and blues legend Taj Mahal, a student of string music both from Africa and worldwide, who brought Diabate along. The music he produced with his 21-string behemoth of an instrument captivated me, hence the purchase.

When I listen to the disk, I hear Django Reinhardt, Les Paul, Spanish guitar, Latin jazz, American and Irish folk music played on instruments like the dulcimer, strains of stringed Middle Eastern and Medieval music, and opera when he sings (only a couple times here), among other things. It also makes me think of Dino Saluzzi, the Argentine bandoneon player who makes jazz of tango music. It shouldn't be surprising that "Tunga" sounds jazzy quite often, given that jazz itself is heavily rooted in African rhythms. (Jazz bassist Ira Coleman also accompanies on five tracks.) I think the title track, which Diabate played at the festival here, is one of the most haunting tunes I've ever heard and "Soutoukou" one of the happier. This is an enchanting, mind-expanding CD.