Toumani Diabate Reveals New Album, Tour

Twenty years after he released Kaira, his international debut, talkative Malian kora master and Björk collaborator Toumani Diabaté will release his new album via World Circuit/Nonesuch February 26. The Mandé Variations is his first solo album on the kora (a traditional West African 21-string instrument) since Kaira, except this one comes entirely without overdubs or accompaniment of any kind.

In support of The Mandé Variations' release, Diabaté will gather up his friends for a tour of the Symmetric Orchestra. The ensemble includes musicians from Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso, who play instruments ranging from the kora and typical rock band elements (guitar, bass, drums) to other traditional African instruments such as the ngoni and the balafon.

The Symmetric Orchestra tour begins January 24 in Seattle and extends across the U.S. before heading Down Under a little later, in March.

The Mandé Variations:

01 Si Naani
02 Elyne Road
03 Ali Farka Toure
04 Kaunding Cissoko
05 Ismael Drame
06 Djourou Kara Nany
07 El Nabiyouna
08 Cantelowes

Toumani Diaba-dates:

01-24 Seattle, WA - The Triple Door
01-25 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
01-26 San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theatre
01-27 Minneapolis, MN - Dakota Jazz Club
01-28 Minneapolis, MN - Dakota Jazz Club
01-29 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
01-31 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
02-01 Kingston, RI - Edwards Auditorium (University of Rhode Island)
02-02 Boston, MA - Somerville Theatre
02-03 Philadelphia, PA - World Café Live
02-05 Asheville, NC - Diana Wortham Theater
03-07 Adelaide, Australia - WOMADelaide
03-09 Adelaide, Australia - WOMADelaide
03-11 Sydney, Australia - Sydney Opera House *
03-14 New Plymouth, New Zealand - WOMAD NZ
03-15 New Plymouth, New Zealand - WOMAD NZ

* with Thomas Mapfumo