The Tel Aviv Session mixes African and Middle Eastern acoustic sounds, with Israeli pop star Idan Raichel and Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré combining forces to create The Touré-Raichel Collective. This potent mix of piano and guitar, accompanied by bass and calabash, is simple yet lush and entrancing. Certainly the freebie “Bamba” features excellent playful instrumentation, and the rare vocals on “Alkataou” are splendid, but this is an album to be listened to in its entirety, to be drawn into an unusual international musical collaboration (as briefly outlined by NPR).
Just like the recently reviewed Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, this fine album comes Cumbancha.
