Les Ambassadeurs Du Motel De Bamako, Vol. 1 (feat. Salif Keita)

These 1970s cuts were recorded when Keita and fellow Guinean guitarist Kante Manfila were helping to revolutionize African music by blending traditional rhythms with Caribbean and Latin beats. The resulting convergence yielded a fresh, invigorating, influential hybrid. Rounder hedged their bets a bit by advertising this CD highlighting Keita; he's only on the first two cuts, and vocalist Minx makes a slightly more exciting contribution on his featured cut, "Mousso Gnaleden." But Keita displays his formidable skills on "Seidou Bahkili," and Les Ambassadeurs demonstrate the facility and form that made them part of the new wave of African bands who paved the way for the worldbeat explosion of the late '80s.