In The Heart of the Moon

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In The Heart of the Moon
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  1. Audio CD: Release Date 2005-09-13
  2. Publisher: Nonesuch
  3. Artist: Ali Farka Toure, Toumani Diabate
  4. Sales Rank in Music: #6503

Product Review

In the Heart of the Moon is a summit meeting between two world music giants, guitarist Ali Farka Toure and master of the kora-the 21-string gourd harp-toumani Diabate. It is the first newly recorded work from either artist in five years and their first album-length collaboration. More an eloquent, in-depth dialogue than a jam session, In The Heart Of the Moon was recorded during three unrehearsed, improvisatory two-hour sessions at the Hotel Mande, on the banks of the Niger river, in Bamako, Mali.

Amazon.com

Ali Farka Toure fans expecting to hear another fiery electric blues effort from the African John Lee Hooker are in for a big surprise. Toure's first album after a six- year hiatus is mostly an acoustic duo with kora master Toumani Diabate that draws upon Malian and Guinean folk style from the 1950s and '60s called Jamana Kura, which grew out of the Mande griot music tradition. Both musicians were children at the time this music was popularized and a yearning sentimentality flavors many of the songs, particularly "Hawa Dolo," one of three Toure tunes rerecorded here in that older style. Other surprises abound as well: there are only two vocal tracks from the deep-voice Toure, and much of the soloing is actually handled by the flittering Diabate. Minus a few overdubs by guests like Ry Cooder, the music here were first takes from a jam session in which the two musicians would improvising over the basic structures. Nonetheless, this loose approach matched with the stunning beauty of the playing makes it a treasure worth holding on to. --Tad Hendrickson
Title Tracks for In The Heart of the Moon

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)

91 of 93 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Mellow Melodies of Musical Masters, September 23, 2005
Friederike Knabe (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In The Heart of the Moon (Audio CD)
This is a rare feast! Two of Mali's finest musicians getting together for a couple of jamming sessions! There were no rehearsals, just immediate harmony, understanding of the music and each musician exhibiting appreciation of the other. Both artists brought their rich repertoire with them, one leading the other into a melody they both knew and off they went... creative improvisation combined with virtuosity of their two instruments, guitar and kora. The backup team included no other than famous American guitarist Ry Cooder and his son Joachim.

IN THE HEART OF THE MOON may have taken a few hours to record, but the build up to this first musical encounter of Mali's musical giants took many years. Listening to them play, you wouldn't believe either time span. Having met and heard them both play in informal settings, I can imagine the sessions, the wordless intuitive exchange through eye contact and gestures. The result is, as they say, magic! According to the...Read more


29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb album, delicate and unaffected music, unhurried, enjoyable to the last echoing note, March 5, 2006
D. B. Spalding (Korova Multimedia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In The Heart of the Moon (Audio CD)
Having experienced Toumani Diabaté's music before, I instantly recognized it on a local "Bonjour Africa" radio show this afternoon. Racing to my local music seller to buy this disc, I found the last copy. You'll have no such trouble here, lucky you. This music is amazing ... the entrancing, rhythmic interplay between Touré's gentle guitar and Diabaté's lilting kora are like two string instrument spirits filling the room with their joy. Despite being recorded with a mobile setup in a hotel room on the banks of a river, the sound is lush and full-bodied; the bass response needs no subwoofer to penetrate to your bones. A few very deft overdubs by Ry Cooder and his son Joachim, and others, don't intrude.

This album is world music the way that non-world music fans probably prefer it: accessible, gentle, amazing, and worth repeated playings, either out loud or quietly in the background. Dare I say it's even good "date music." Play the samples here and judge...Read more


29 of 33 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A good pairing, October 1, 2005
Kenneth Stuart (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In The Heart of the Moon (Audio CD)
My favorite African music album is Diabate's previous album with his relative, Ballake Sissoko, "New Ancient Strings".

However, this album is probably more accessible to the listener who has little experience with non-Western music. This is because the familiar tonality of the guitar gives the new listener something to fasten onto.

The music is quite excellent in its own right, and will be refreshing to the listen who is dismayed at the recent tendency of pop Western music to dispense with melody altogether.

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