In 1989, African musicians/singers
Dembo Konte and Kausu Kuyateh joined forces with the British world music unit
3 Mustaphas 3 to record
Jali Roll. Insanely eclectic,
3 Mustaphas 3 is a group capable of playing Mexican ranchero one minute and Russian folk the next, only to turn around and embrace Scottish/Celtic traditions. So it comes as no surprise that they played traditional African music effectively on
Jali Roll. On both original material written by
Konte and Kuyateh and traditional songs of Gambia and Senegal,
3 Mustaphas 3 proved quite compatible with the Africans, both of whom handle the vocals and play the kora (an African instrument). Among the traditional songs embraced are "Lambango" and "Alla L'aa Ke." This is an album that both
Mustaphas devotees and admirers of African tradition will find of interest. [
Jali Roll was reissued, with one bonus track, in 2001.] ~ Alex Henderson