Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal
Musique de nuit
Six Degrees
657036-1228-2-6
Rick’s Pick

This is the second duo album by kora virtuoso Ballaké Sissoko and cellist Vincent Segal, and it finds the two picking up the musical conversation of Chamber Music pretty much where it left off six years ago. Several of the tracks on Musique de nuit were recorded on a rooftop in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and if you listen closely you’ll hear incidental noises from nightbirds singing or people passing by on the street below. But mostly, all you’ll hear is the remarkable interplay between two masters of their instruments who come from musical traditions that could hardly be more remote from each other, finding and exploring common musical ground in beautiful and moving ways. The song “Diabaro” features griot singer Babani Kone. All of it is exceptionally lovely.