With this big band album, Ali Boulo Santo proves without any artifice that he is a major composer and arranger of West African music. The subtle melodies and carefully crafted arrangements reveal an artist who is both a custodian of the great griot epics and an attentive listener of global music, able to draw sparing references from jazz as well as pop. Ali Boulo Santo's identity is highly singular, far from the usual clichés associated with kora players. Despite it's great sophistication, this album remains accessible to any listener sensitive to African music, and can even serve as a simple entry point into this rich tradition of acoustic music.