This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Taj Mahal isn’t the first artist to explore the common ground between American blues and African music — his old pal Ry Cooder and Mali guitarist Ali Farka Toure have mapped out that terrain extensively.
But Mahal’s new collaboration with Mali kora master Toumani Diabate and his band may be the most effective pairing of the two sounds to date. Taj’s folky finger-picking dovetails smoothly with Toumani’s intricate plucking of the harplike, 21-string kora, and the perfect balance between genres — the band alternates between African tunes like the title cut and Delta classics like Queen Bee, and sometimes even switches languages and styles within songs — successfully erases the lines between the two cultures. A seeming shoo-in for a Grammy nomination, Kulanjan will please blues fans, world music lovers — and anyone who just likes beautiful music expertly played from the heart.
