{"product_id":"mali-to-memphis","title":"Mali to Memphis","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrand:\u003c\/b\u003e PUTUMAYO\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e compilation\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePartNumber:\u003c\/b\u003e 4804876\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRelease Date:\u003c\/b\u003e 26-01-1999\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDetails:\u003c\/b\u003e Amazon.ca\n\nThe blues-Mali connection has been much pondered, and Mali to Memphis attempts to illustrate the tie with selections of both Malian artists and American bluesmen (and women). The Malian cuts, especially those from Rokia Traore, Boubacar Traore, and Lobi Traore, are the most persuasive, setting up long, monochromatic, loping grooves not dissimilar to John Lee Hooker's, over which are laid some spine-chilling vocals, tinged with the Arabic influences of Islam. Hooker himself, who comes in with an acoustic \"I'm in the Mood for Love,\" is the most obvious U.S. stylistic link. Muddy Waters, Eric Bibb, and Jesse Mae Hemphill also provide interesting comparisons, but some of the other blues choices, nice as they are, aren't as convincing examples of musical similarity. The point is well made that it is within the vocal styles that any cross-cultural pollinations are found, not in the 8-, 10-, 12-, or 16-bar structures that dominate the blues idiom. The blues are a vehicle for stories, emotion, and tradition, and the griots of Mali share the same responsibility, only they are much more deeply embedded in, and fundamental to, the culture of the land, something that oozes out of every note they play. --Derek Rath\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eUPC:\u003c\/b\u003e 760644804876\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEAN:\u003c\/b\u003e 0760644804876\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eModel:\u003c\/b\u003e 4804876\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding:\u003c\/b\u003e audioCD\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eItem Condition:\u003c\/b\u003e UsedVeryGood\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"IDshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48209469243651,"sku":"OZ-G9HN-858U","price":10.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0030\/9765\/7390\/files\/71Es7KAVYQL.jpg?v=1779454826","url":"https:\/\/idshop.ca\/en\/products\/mali-to-memphis","provider":"ID Shop.ca","version":"1.0","type":"link"}