Rail Band Fuses Sounds of Mali and Cuba to Foot-Tapping Effect

Mali’s Super Rail Band has a checkered history dating back to its origin in the late ‘60s. Singers Salif Keita and Mory Kante are among its most illustrious former members. And the group’s lead guitarist, Djelimady Tounkara--who has been in and out of several incarnations of the ensemble--is widely hailed as one of Africa’s premier guitarists.

The edition of the Super Rail Band that showed up at the California Plaza on Friday sounded a bit different from what recordings of the group had led listeners to anticipate. Making its first U.S. tour, the group left behind the horn section, emphasizing vocals, guitars and percussion, showcasing Tounkara’s far-reaching versatility.

Like many Malian ensembles that surfaced in the ‘60s and ‘70s, the Rail Band was deeply influenced by Cuban music (the similarities between Malian traditional rhythms and Cuban music are striking).

Thirty years and numerous personnel changes later, many of the pieces in Friday’s performance were still tinged with traces of clave rhythms.

Although the absence of the driving energies generated by the horn section somewhat diminished the band’s impact, there was no resisting the power or the impact of the foot-tapping rhythms.

The dance areas alongside the stage overflowed with undulating shapes as the Rail Band affirmed the remarkable capacity of Malian music to find the compatible links between African tradition, Cuban rhythms, jazz, blues and pop.

The evening opened with a stirring vocal performance by the U.S.-based Malian singer Ali Baba.