Search - Miki N'Doye :: Tuki

N'Doye has some skill with the kalimba, but it can't support

Christopher Culver | 10/21/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Miki N'Doye is a Gambian musician who came to Norway in the mid-1970s and ever since has collaborated with Nordic jazz players. On the ECM disc TUKI, released in 2006, he appears with Jon Balke on keyboards, Per Jørgensen on trumpet and Helge-Andreas Norbakken on percussion.



The album is mainly N'Doye's kalimba (thumb piano) playing with his vocals. The kalimba lines are very often looped, giving tracks a long, hypnotic quality. Balke and Jørgensen don't appear too often, and when present they generally play long-held notes at low dynamic. Ultimately I found this disc a disappointment, for 70 minutes of kalimba loops becomes dull, and the contribution of the other players don't really add much variety. N'Doye's vocals are also quite weak (I generally like West African singing, but N'Doye can't hold a candle.) If you already know N'Doye's work, you might enjoy this album, but I couldn't recommend for anyone just going through ECM's catalogue."