ALI FARKA TOURÉ AND TOUMANI DIABATÉ In the Heart of the Moon World Circuit  *****

The maestros gathered in a room in the Hotel Mandé on the banks of the Niger River in Bamako. Ali Farka Touré brought his guitar and that unique desert blues style which he has teased and honed over a long, glorious career; Toumani Diabaté brought his kora and a centuries-old sound and tradition. There were some other musicians in the room, too (including Ry Cooder, Cachaíto Lopez and Sekou Kanté), but the only conversation that mattered was the one taking place between the two Malian men sitting in the centre of the room.

Over the course of three short recording sessions, Touré and Diabaté produced the bones of an extraordinary album, a work which is stunning by virtue of its relative simplicity and subtlety. In the Heart of the Moon stills time and quells distractions, slowly weaving a seductive spell around any listener and coaxing them to turn their ears to the duet between guitar and kora. Music which is as old and storied as Africa itself; there are moments here when the slow, graceful playing become quite transcendent. You can hear it on Debe when the kora takes the high road, and it's all over the sweet, carefree plucking that highlights Monsieur le Maire de Niafunké. Music as wonderful as music gets.

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Jim Carroll