Sabou
In 1988, a Guinée-born kora (West African harp-lute) maestro burst upon the scene with "Yeké Yeké," a crowd-pleasing electrified dance hit. But like most Manding jelis (aka griots---hereditary musician/praise-singer and/or historians), his success followed a rigorous childhood apprenticeship, after which Kanté began to perform throughout Africa before eventually migrating to Paris. These days, he is also an activist, having been appointed F.A.O. ambassador in the mission to fight hunger and poverty worldwide. Sabou constitutes a long-awaited return to Kanté's ancestral heritage, an impassioned, crisply produced acoustic set complete with breathy flutes, chime-laced percussion, and joyous call-and-response female choirs. But like his former Rail Band collaborator, Salif Keita, whose recent unplugged masterpiece,Moffou, created a sensation, Kanté is incapable of producing a stuffy, hide-bound retread. Every track crackles with modernity and invention, as refreshing and changeable as tomorrow's winds. Do not---repeat, do not---miss this one!--Christina Roden