(headline image: Guitari Baro – Photo by Carolina Vallejo)
Chrysalis Records has launched its Chrysalis Global imprint with an instrumental debut, Guitari Baro (Guitar Conversations), led by a Mande griot trio. The first single is “Mamelles.”
The trio pairs master balafonist Lassana Diabaté, with guitarists Gaoussou Kouyaté and Kerfala Diabaté. It is a rare dialogue between balafon and guitar by hereditary West African jali musicians. Notably, this is a pan-African exchange linking Malian tradition and Guinean guitar work.
The material draws on Mande idioms while nodding to jazz, Congolese rumba, rock, Guinean dance bands, and Cuban music.
A UK and European tour is planned for spring 2026. Chrysalis Global focuses on international jazz and folk (world music); prior titles include reissues of Toumani Diabaté’s New Ancient Strings and Kaira.
Author: World Music Central News Room
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