Of all the original American bluesmen, Taj Mahal has always seemed to be the closest to his chosen genre’s African roots, and yet, when the veteran teamed up with Toumani Diabate, venerated Malian master of the kora, back in 1999 to record a joint album, many were taken by surprise. “Kulanjan” – that was the title of their work – turned out to be arresting and still underrated, despite the accolades courtesy of Barack Obama ten years down the line, which is it’s about time to reassess this latter-day classic.
