With the release of of Douga Mansa(The King's Vulture), his third album for World Village, Mamadou Diabate further consolidates his already awe-inspiring reputation as a kora virtuoso and tradition-based musical maverick. His instrument, a 21-stringed West African harp-lute equipped with a gourd resonator, calls for an almost unimaginable degree of physical and creative dexterity. But in Diabate's hands, the kora proves capable of infiinte variation, encompassing delicately artuculated structures, swirlin eddies of glissandi, pounding, vertical rhythms and roaring cataracts of arpeggio. On Touto Diarra, the opening track, an astounding range of simultaneous yet syncopated melodies and rhythms join and separate. It weems impossible that such complex clarity could possibly be the work of a solo musician - with no overdubbing whatsover - but so it is. The title tune, with its serene, wave-like themes, refers to patience and life and deathe recurring in cycles, each leading into and becoming the other. Segou Tara, a memorial to selfless heroes, especially those who do not return home, commences with an arching, leaping prologue before shifting to a propulsive, loping gait. These and nine other glorious selections engage the imagination and ravish the senses; every note is informed by the sure touch and blazing invention of a world-class master.