Taj Mahal And Toumani Diabate :: Kulanjan

toumani

In 1999 American bluesman Taj Mahal teamed up with Malian kora master Toumani Diabate — together they recorded the transformative and meditative beauty that is Kulanjan. Named after a track from the 1970 album of kora music,  Ancient Strings, by Toumani Diabaté’s father Sidiki Diabate, the two bridge their geographical distance and musical styles by seamlessly blending the gruff and somewhat weary vocals of Mahal, mellower and more nostalgic in his picking, and the hypnotic calm of Diabate’s kora, an otherworldly sound in and of itself.

The pair are joined by a group of transcendent Malian musicians, including Toumani’s descendant, Kassé-Mady Diabaté, and the late Ramata “Rah” Diakité on vocals. Diakité (who would die ten years later at the tragic age of thirty-three), has an especially stirring performance on the re-creation of Mahal’s 1977 “Queen Bee.” Transforming the original’s loose AM island vibes into something far more gentle and hushed, it finds Mahal and Diabate’s strings mingling amongst Diakité’s angelic improvised vocals, intertwining with Mahal’s world-worn blues of a voice — it’s a piece that stands entirely on its own. An album opener that immediately transports you in the world of these musicians and the palpable spiritual bond that was formed while creating this music. “Sweeter than a honey bee,” indeed.

Taj Mahal And Toumani Diabate :: Take This Hammer

Kassé-Mady Diabaté helps Toumani honor his father with “Kulanjan,” a tranquil West African folk piece, while Taj most heavily brings the blues on “Catfish Blues,” his vocals down-and-out and his guitar sullen and raw. “Oh, I wish I was a catfish,” he sings, “swimmin’ into the deep blue sea. I’d have all the good lookin’ women swimmin’ after me.” Pure Taj, pure blues, but ultimately Toumani’s kora elevates the tune onto a higher sphere, something more than blues –   a pure transcendence. Two masters of their craft fusing their roots into a genesis all its own. Old and new, American and African, blues, world, folk, and country: with this record, you’re entering a world where these qualifiers are of no concern — they don’t restrain the players, nor narrow the possibilities for creation. Instead, they converge their differences into one. World music is a tricky term, but its apt for its universality, an all-encompassing connotation that can go unappreciated, but speaks to this record in the most positive way possible. “Mississippi-Mali Blues” does exactly what it sounds like, combines the two. Seamless, as if they were always bound to mingle.

And then there’s Take This Hammer” — here’s Taj bluesing out on a song that roots back to a Leadbelly murder ballad, but Toumani is exploring other avenues, other tones, with his gorgeous and transfixing kora playing. And Ramata, entrancing us with what has to be some kind of gospel. One of the purest voices ever laid to tape. In the end, Mahal is singing about the light of the moon and the shining sun. “Tell him I was flyin’,” he sings. Yes, this is world music. Of the world, for the world.

Post Script — This wouldn’t be the first time Taj broadened his horizons, collaborating with the Indian string players N. Ravikiran and V.M Bhatt on the 1995 record Mumtaz Mahal. Here, the trio improvises and loses themselves into meditative drones, hums and slides (courtesy of Bhatt’s homemade Mohan Veena guitar), exploring the lengths of blues traditionals such as “Mary Don’t You Weep,” and drawing them out into new, wider spiritual terrains. A trip well worth taking. words / c depasquale

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One thought on “Taj Mahal And Toumani Diabate :: Kulanjan

  1. While in college, I found this album sorta accidentally, but what a surprise! Love this version of ‘Queen Bee’

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