Mali Becomes Touchstone for World Music

If you have listened to non-commercial radio at all lately: the BBC, National Public Radio, APR, and more, you will no doubt agree that music from Mali seems to garner more attention than its modest size would indicate.

Oumou Sangare (born February 25, 1968, in Bamako, Mali) is a Malian Wassoulou musician, sometimes referred to as "The Songbird of Wassoulou." Wassoulou is a historic region south of the Niger River, and the music there is descended from traditional hunting songs, and is accompanied by a calabash. Her mother was the singer Aminata Diakité.

Mali has produced some of the great superstars of modern African music: kora player Toumani Diabaté, golden voiced singers Salif Keita and Oumou Sangare, dancebands like the Super Rail Band, and the great river-bluesman Ali Farka Touré. Lucy Duran, presenter of Radio 3's World Routes, has spent years in Mali researching the music of its flamboyant divas, and has worked as a producer with some of Mali's leading musicians.
Oumou Sangare

Radio 3 Guide to World Music - Mali
Wikipedia - Oumou Sangare