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Music: Global Toumani Diabaté

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Toumani Diabaté may be the preeminent keeper of Mali's rich history of kora music, but he's hardly a classicist. The 71st-generation griot searches out fertile cross-cultural collaborations while working to preserve the tradition passed down to him by his father, Sidiki Diabaté, himself once known as "King of the Kora." High-profile sessions with Taj Mahal and Björk have won over new fans, but Diabaté's recent solo album, The Mandé Variations, brings the focus back to his exquisite kora playing. Hearing the 21-string, gourd-backed harp resonate through the Herbst is worth the price of admission alone.

– Max Goldberg

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