The latest releases reviewed

TOUMANI DIABATÉ
The Mande Variations World Circuit *****

Toumani Diabaté is the unrivalled master of the kora, the west African harp-lute from the Mande culture of his native Mali. His last album was with his Bamako dance band, The Symmetric Orchestra, and he recently played on Björk's album Volta. This is something quite different: a completely solo instrumental album, recorded without overdubs, and his first solo album for 20 years. Five of the eight pieces here are traditional, but two are abstract improvisations, and the beautiful Elyne Road is based, perhaps surprisingly, on a melody from UB40. Throughout the album, Diabaté weaves intricate melodic patterns, offering extraordinary richness and complexity for a solo instrument. He has been dubbed "the Ravi Shankar of the kora" and certainly deserves similar status for his remarkable musicianship. Outstanding. NIGEL WOOD www.myspace.com/toumanidiabate

Download tracks: Elyne Road, Kaounding Cissoko, Cantelowes

BENJAMIN LAPIDUS
Herencia Judía Tresero Productions **

The languid sensuality of Cuban rhythms crossed with the devotion of Jewish liturgical music - now there's a cross-fertilisation that hasn't been peddled to the masses yet. But is it a marriage made in some multicultural paradise? The answer is emphatically 'no'. Afro-Caribbean music thrives on its inherent flexibility, its ability to see around corners and go with the flow. Brooklyner Benjamin Lapidus's attempt to inter-stitch his deeply-held faith into the tapestry falls foul of the insistent, unyielding and restrained range within which his lyrics exist. And this, despite his often fascinating socio-political references, which include a mourning prayer in memory of the executed journalist Daniel Pearl. Lapidus seeks out the carnival of Guantanamo and Santiago, but his earnestness overwhelms the infectious rhythms of Castro land. www.treseroproductions.com  SIOBHÁN LONG

Download tracks: Etz Chaim, Dayenu