2005 Mamadou Diabate at Kilbourn Hall was magical. These two guys from Mali made a world of music on these two instruments. Mamadou Diabate is the guy on the right playing the kora (sort of like a harp). He explained that his family was from a very long line (800 years) of musicians. The guy on the right is Balla Kouyate and he plays balafon (like a xylophone). Together with their overlapping and interweaving patterns, they sounded trancelike like Steve Reich only folkier and and more melodic. The highlight though was a solo by Mamadou whose fingers moved so fast you couldn't imagine where all the patterns and drone notes were coming from.

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