JALI KUNDA

Richard Klacka (courtesy of the Conscious Choice website)

Through weak and strong releases alike, the packaging of ellipses arts label recordings has usually been impeccable. But the container gurus must have nodded approval in their sleep for Jali Kunda, a fat, glossy-covered boxed set containing not three, not four, not even five, but a single, solitary cd swimming in cardboard plus a soft-cover book the size of a National Geographic. What's wrong with the hardcover-book plus inside-back-cover slipcased disc format that the label's used for its last slew of recordings? When I stumble across an illustrated cardboard box in a cd store, I take the cover admonition "Book and Compact Disc" with the proverbial grain of salt, expecting to find an absolute minimum of two discs inside, especially when the subject matter warrants it. And ‘Jali Kunda’ does.

As you'll probably learn elsewhere in this issue, this project is the result of Mandingo Griot Society founder Foday Musa Suso's return to his roots in Senegambia, and his Bill Laswell-produced collaboration with extended family members on kora, balafon, nyanyer one-stringed fiddle, and percussion. The disc also features three experimental tracks with Philip Glass, Pharaoh Sanders, and the Griot Society (in remix) that seem out of place interspersed with the traditional pieces. A two disc set would have made more sense, one devoted to the Jali tradition, another showcasing innovation. Considering Suso's long personal history of crafting successful African fusion music with Herbie Hancock, Laswell and others, it's surprising that the modern pieces seem tentative. Only "Spring Waterfall" featuring Phillip Glass on massed keyboards resists being eclipsed by the traditional songs, primarily because, rather than trying to match their raw intensity, Glass opts for locking into a hypnotic rhythm with one of his trademarked repetitive musings. "Samma," a jam with jazz saxophone legend Pharaoh Sanders, is provocative, but feels like a precursor to more developed pieces that fail to follow.

The roots music chunk of ‘Jali Kunda’ is some of the strongest griot material on record. From the first few seconds of the first track, "Allah I'aake" ("God's Will"), the energy bristles and never lets up throughout the beautifully mixed field recordings. Calling the acoustic material traditional is a bit of a misnomer unless you accept the fluidity of tradition, since my favorite track here, "Mariama," boasts a wicked nyanyer riff backed by the unusual addition of drums. This piece is so powerful, I'm grateful for Robert Palmer's introduction to the book which reminds me that much of traditional-based African music can only be understood when its divinatory and magical aspects are taken into consideration. In "Mariama" and in other cuts that feature the ecstatic Mandinka vocal style you either love or hate, depending on your tolerance for over-the-top emotional expression, the spiritual dimension is unmistakable. And so is the connection to American blues and gospel. ‘Jali Kunda’ is one-half of a wonderful release that suffers from the grab-bag production approach that I thought ellipsis arts had finally outgrown.

Bob Tart (courtesy of the The Beat website)