For various reasons In The Heart Of The Moon can be called an exceptional album. Producer Nick Gold planned to record solo albums in Mali by two Malian celebrities, the legendary singer-guitarist Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté, a grandmaster of the kora, a 21-string West African harp. Gold arranged a meeting between Touré and Diabaté to record one duet. The musicians picked up their guitar
… and kora and without any prior practice the song Kaira sounded so perfectly in tune as if they had never done otherwise. This creative flow of improvisations proved unstoppable. In the end, three magical, two-hour sessions resulted in a complete album of improvisations based on repertoire from the 1950-1960s. The extraordinary interaction between Touré and Diabaté makes you forget that they come from very different tribes, regions and cultural traditions of Mali. Their fresh tingling complex playing on acoustic guitar and kora is breathtakingly beautiful. The improvisations exude an atmosphere of peace, trust, positivism and hope. Fortunately, this mood is not disturbed by the subtle musical contributions of Ry Cooder (piano, guitar), bassists Sekou Kante and Cachaíto López and percussionists Joachim Cooder and Olalekan Babalola. Superworldly music! (SvdP) Fortunately, this mood is not disturbed by the subtle musical contributions of Ry Cooder (piano, guitar), bassists Sekou Kante and Cachaíto López and percussionists Joachim Cooder and Olalekan Babalola. Superworldly music! (SvdP) Fortunately, this mood is not disturbed by the subtle musical contributions of Ry Cooder (piano, guitar), bassists Sekou Kante and Cachaíto López and percussionists Joachim Cooder and Olalekan Babalola. Superworldly music! (SvdP)more
