Blending the rich vocal textures of women from the Garifuna communities of Central America with echoes of rock, blues, funk, African, Latin and Caribbean music, Umalali is an entrancing journey into the heart and soul of a unique and inspiring culture. From the award-winning producer of Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective's Watina comes this album of indescribable emotion, strength and beauty.

Mali Diary (Diario Mali) is a studio recording of duets between the highly successful Italian classical-crossover pianist, Ludovico Einaudi, and Mali musician Ballake Sissoko - one of the most gifted ækoraÆ players in Africa. This unexpected collaboration was recorded in February 2003, less than a month after they had appeared together at the now famous Festival in the Desert. They had a track included on the best-selling CD of the event.

It turns out that the cello is just about the perfect instrument to compliment the kora. The cello is legato where the kora is pointillist; it is lustrous and mellow where the kora is bright and brittle; and yet both instruments share a profound capacity for serenity, so that even as they contrast most sharply, they can remain unified in purpose. That said, in the wrong hands, a confab of cello and kora could easily devolve into a New Age snooze fest or a tedious exercise in classical music light. So the success of Chamber Music must really be credited to the remarkable musicians who created it, and to their playful, confident, and utterly transparent musical friendship.

Segu Blue introduces the ngoni player Bassekou Kouyate. Bassekou has collaborated with many musicians in and outside of Mali. He played in the Symmetric trio with Toumani Diabate on kora and famous Keletigui Diabate on balafon. He was part of the Kulanjan project recorded with Taj Mahal. He is one of the key musicians on Ali Farka Toure's posthumous album `Savane' which was released july 2006. Most recently, he toured with Ali Farka Toure leaving a lasting impression on the audience as the band's solo ngoni player. The ngoni is one of Africas secrets still to be discovered. It is the key instrument for Griot culture. The album was produced by Lucy Dur n, recorded at studio Bogolan in Bamako by Yves Wernert and mixed by Jerry Boys (the man responsible for recording and mixing Buena Vista social Club amongst others) in London. Out Here.

Malian maestro Bassekou Kouyate is a virtuoso picker and visionary whose work blurs the lines between West African and American roots music. Bassekou's intrument, the ngoni, is a "spike lute" and an ancestor of the banjo. Kouyate leads his band Ngoni Ba, the first-ever group built around not one but four ngonis-all played by members of his family. "I Speak Fula" builds on the artist's previous album and guests several pan-Malian notables, Toumani Diabate, Kasse Mady Diabate, Zoumana Tereta and Vieux Farka Toure.

The 1996 recording of this powerful singer from Mali is both her most fully produced recording to date, but in a strange twist also one of her most grounded, essentially "folk" albums as well. The core African band is mostly voices, with kamalngoni (a thick stringed lute), guitars, flute, and percussion in more or less traditional settings for these powerful and persuasive original songs about the social order and the place of women in the culture…

One of the hardest things to learn as a musician is not only to recognize inspiration, but when to trust and follow it. Over a musically and so-cially consequential career, South African singer-songwriter and poet-activist Vusi Mahlasela has successfully followed his muse. That trust in his gift is at the root of his latest album, Guiding Star. Mahlasela wrote and recorded this album as he toured the globe…

Youssou N'Dour is the most famous African pop star in the world. Since his first appearances in America (on tour with Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel and Sting in 1988), he has filled concert halls and arenas across the continent and earned a reputation as an enthralling performer, a commanding bandleader and one of the greatest singers alive. His duet with Neneh Cherry, 7 Seconds, was a global smash hit in 1994, and his album Egypt won a Grammy in 2005.

If one record could be singled out as a watershed moment of the '90s and a defining work of contemporary Macedonian music and culture, this would be it. This record really broke new barriers and set new standards. Before The Rain was Milcho Manchevski's debut movie, which won a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1994 and was one of the front-runners for that year's Oscar for a foreign film. The movie tells the story of a burned out photographer returning from the war in Bosnia. Unfolding in three parts, Before The Rain explores the uncompromising nature of war which serves as a warning and a premonition; the director recognized the same seeds of violence in his home country, which eventually (several years later) led to the conflict that he dreaded.

Seemingly coming out of nowhere in 2007, singer Mayra Andrade single handedly rebooted the prevailing stereotype of Cape Verdean music with her debut album, Navega (Sterns). Sunny and gorgeously melodic, the disc provided a counterweight to the anguished oeuvre of Cesaria Evora, the "Barefoot Diva" who had been the international voice of Cape Verdean popular music since the late 1980s…

Cape Verdean singer Mayra Andrade has enjoyed a very healthy climb to stardom with this impressive debut. Certainly the last thing anyone thinks of when listening to her is a comparison with her countrywoman Césaria Évora. But Andrade hasn't rushed into the studio to record – this album has had a six-year gestation. This is revealed right from the start, as the subtle "Dimokransa" shows the influence of Brazil in a transparently obvious but beautifully fashioned manner – there's definite sophistication at work here…

To celebrate ten years of playing together, Emir Kusturica and the No Smoking Orchestra who are currently touring, release a Best Of with 20 songs from the soundtrack of Black Cat White Cat, Unza Unza Time, the soundtrack of Life is a miracle and the Opera "Time of the Gypsies".

Djeli Moussa Diawara (also known as Jali Musa Jawara) is a master musician and one of the leading players of the kora, the 23-string west African harp. The son of musicians, brother to Mory Kante and cousin to Kante Manfila, he has a rich heritage and a deep sense of tradition. He also has an exploratory mind. In his previous work, Sobindo, he fused electronics and various musical styles into his Manding heritage to great effect, but this new recording is a quiet, contemplative, but no less daring exploration. Don't let the title confuse you, this is not a fusion flamenco project, but an investigation into the north African music that gives rise to the Moorish music of Spain…

Soul Express boasts the trademark Standring Sound fused with new soul, chill and jazz flavors, the end result, an intoxicating brew that will delight the ears and put a swing in your mood. Standring manages to coax the clarity and soul out of every note.

Unique flute work in an intimate quartet setting, supported and stimulated by some of Chicago's finest improvisers: Jeff Parker, guitar; Harrison Bankhead, bass; Avreeayl Ra, drums. Named 2010 Flutist of the Year in the Down Beat Critic's Poll, she rides the wave into new compositions that explore many colors, moods and rhythmic grooves. Mitchell's earlier projects involved larger groups; Black Earth Ensemble, Black Unstoppable (Delmark CD and DVD) and Black Earth Strings, Renegades. This smaller group setting opens the door for Mitchell to stretch out as a soloist more so than on any of her previous recordings.