Kongo Magni [Import]

Boubacar Traore | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 13, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: World Village USA
• ASIN: B000A9QKJQ
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #210,434 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #78 in Music > World Music > Africa > Mali

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While his Malian compatriot Ali Farka Touré's output is redolent of John Lee Hooker and blistering high noons on two continents, Boubacar Traoré's Khassonke-bred form of "African blues" evokes Robert Johnson and cautionary fables about avoiding crossroads at twilight. But although he deplores the bitter state of the world and is in perpetual mourning for personal losses, he is also guardedly optimistic about his new granddaughter's future, recommending dignity and self-sufficiency as building blocks for a useful, happy life. For this outing, the lone troubadour is joined by a sympathetic and respectful team of collaborators. The acoustic backup blooms with robust squeezebox and harmonica, plangent kameli nogoni (young person¹s harp), skittish balafon (xylophone) ripples and hissing, rattling percussion. Known familiarly as Kar Kar, Traoré began his career as a pop star and well comprehends the impact of a good hook -- his songs may be more conventionally melodic than those of his great countryman but their aching, shadow-haunted beauty is no less primal. His rough-hewn, discursive, keening voice, in dialogue with the chiming modal arpeggios of his guitar, expresses a voluptuous fatalism that sends chills racing up and down the spine. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Malian Blues, September 19, 2005

By 

DJDecca (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kongo Magni (Audio CD)

The Malian singer/composer/guitarist scores again with a release full of the passionate, Afro blues music for which he is justly famous. He's backed by a small combo which includes accordion, harmonica, balafon and traditional percussion. It's rich , honest, and oh so good. He knows pain, and it comes though in his music. This release should appeal to fans of all blues, not just those that like world music. The more I listen to this, the more I love it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars HYPNOTIC, SOULFUL AND TRANSCENDENT, October 7, 2005

By 

o dubhthaigh (north rustico, pei, canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Kongo Magni (Audio CD)

From the master guitarist of Mali (believe it or not, he's been called in Brit folk magazines the Neil Young of Mali - ?????), here is a CD of deep and soulful music beautifully played. Traore puts me in mind of Mississippi Fred McDowell in the unaffected way he picks the guitar and in the deeply human pain that infuses his voice. The winds of the dessert blow through this man's voice. He has lived this music and it comes with all the mystic, griot power of truth handed down the ages. This, like many of his recent CDs, is so genuinely delivered that its subtlety easily washes over you. You will find yourself replaying this often to get every bit of news our each note. There is so much on offer.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good music, though not the best from Kar Kar, April 16, 2006

By 

"Ian Herrick" "PapaIan" (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kongo Magni (Audio CD)

While I love Boubacar Traore and enjoy listening to this album, it is not my favorite. That being said, don't let my criticisms deter you from listening to it. Kar Kar and his fellow musicians have succeeded in making a new kind of music with this album -- a kind of Kayes-based world folk. All the non-African musicians who play with Kar Kar do a great job of playing those distinctive Kar Kar melodies, and yet the effect is something quite different than when Kar Kar plays with other Malians, as on "Sa Golo" or "Macire." It is not bad, in fact it is quite good, but it is also not what a fan of Malian music might expect.
It is not this new type of music that makes me feel this is not Kar Kar's best, however. That opinion derives from Kar Kar's singing, which I feel sounds hoarse and weak compared to the strong smoky vocals of his previous albums. His guitar is still quite excellent however. My favorite track is the instrumental duet of guitar and harmonica.