Of course it doesn't hurt that all of the people involved are apparently incredibly gifted musicians. Jayme has a wonderfully light touch on the banjo, so that he can play with authority while at the same time never drowning out those around him. That's especially important considering that Mansa plays the twenty-one stringed harp like African instrument, the kora, whose sound is almost diametrically opposed to that of the banjo. While the one rings the other sings like the wind soughing through the high grasses of the African plains and a banjo player without the ability shown by Jayme would leave the other in tatters.
On Africa To Appalachia Canadian musician Jamye Stone & Malian Mansa Sissoko have followed the banjo back home to its original roots, and brought it back across the ocean again. This time though its not come over lashed in chains in the bottom of a slave ship to be met by a domineering master. Its come over in the songs of Africa to be met by music whose origins lie in that murky past and has created something new. It would be nice if the past and present could always come together this well and create something as delightful as the music on this disc.
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