Boubacar Traore has been a mainstay of the Malian music scene since the mid-‘60s, when he rose to prominence on the strength of gently propulsive dance numbers like “Mali Twist” and “Kar Kar Madison”. Though often compared to fellow Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure, Traore posses a distinctively restrained playing style that serves as a gentler, more idyllic counterpoint to Toure’s scorching desert rhapsodies. On Kongo Magni he croons like a Sahara bound Mississippi John Hurt, accompanying himself with an intricate finger-picking style that fuses the melodic twists favored by Kora-playing Malian griots with a bluesman’s penchant for hypnotic repetition. Traore shies away from the sheets of reverb that characterize Ali Farka Toure’s electrified excursions, opting instead for a simple, close-miced sound that serves as the perfect frame for his fluid playing. His accompanists contribute some painterly flourishes on the accordion, mbira, and harmonica on a number of tracks, lending an intoxicating polyrhythmic kick to his serpentine compositions. Kongo Magni is an exceptional showcase for Traore’s still undiminished technical prowess and is as immediate and compelling as anything he has yet produced; an indispensable document.