Traoré, Rokia
Nonesuch, 2009, CD
Instrument: Female Vocals
Issue: 15.2
Jazz Ruler Type: Ballads, Blues
Performance: 4
Sound: 3
Score: 
O’s Notes: Rokia sings (in French) and plays guitar. She is a wonderfully talented woman who wrote, composed and arranged all of the music on Tchamantché except a few covers. There is a lot of variety here from the folksy opener to the relaxing festive duet with steel pans, “A Ou Ni Sou”. Traoré sings over funky rhythms on “Koroniko”, one of the best songs along with “Dianfa”, “The Man I Love” (in English) and the title track. The lyrics are translated in the liner notes and we enjoyed listening to the native tongue. It brought passion to this rich world jazz release.
Publicist: Nonesuch
