This album may be the best meeting of African and Western sensibilities I can name. Keita, an albino from Mali who ignored his royal lineage and became a musician, possesses a soaring, passionate voice that strides over the loping Afro-beats and chant-like melodies. What makes Amen so distinctive, though, is the production work of Joe Zawinul, who established his credentials as a sonic wizard while he was the keyboardist/composer for Weather Report. He uses his synthesizer prowess to accent but never dominate the music, lending it a unique, urbane sophistication.
This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 3, 2007.