Jalikebba Kuyateh is a master of the kora and part of the strong tradition of Griots throughout West Africa. He currently performs at the Tanji Village Museum in Gambia where he entertains and educate visitors on the musical culture of The Gambia.

The good news is that Jalikebba & The Toubabs has a self titled album freely available on the internet that nicely displayed the various moods and colors of this exciting music. The band is an exhilarating mixture of the traditional and the contemporary. There is a tantalizing taste of Swedish folk music and Indian tablas thrown in but African traditional music is certainly the main attraction. Standout tracks include “Jaliyah”, “M.Samba”, and “Caira”. While indie rock and electronica remain the bulk of online free music, the real promise of internet music may be to introduce people to the vast variety of world music that has been out of the reach of most people until now. Jalikebba & The Toubabs is an excellent example of this.

The bad news is that the free online version of this album is available only in 56kbps MP3 but it is exciting enough to still recommend a listen. However the download page tells you how you can support the musicians by purchasing the higher quality sound CD. Take my advice and do it!

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