Toumani Diabaté

If you have not heard of Bela Fleck, you may have already heard his music. Inspired by the bluegrass sounds of Flatt Scruggs on the "Beverly Hillbillies" show, New York native Fleck started playing banjo when he was 15, and by the time he was 19 he made his first solo banjo album, "Crossing the Tracks." He spent nine years with progressive ...

My girlfriends and I have our annual spa day scheduled for this week. I'm pretty excited. Spa day is pretty much my favorite day of the year. I love everything about the spa - the cozy robes, the nice lady who brings you tea and cheese (yes, our spa has cheese - it's excellent), the over-the-top gossip with the girls, and of course, the actual spa treatments. What I don't like, though, is the music. Seriously, I don't know where they get that stuff, but I do not think that it is fair for them to turn you into a giant, helpless maki roll, and then leave you in a room and tell you to relax, only to punish you with the worst factory-manufactured new-agey glurge they can find. I'm pretty sure the Geneva Convention banned the use of Native American flute with touches of classical cello and the warm tones of didgeridoo music (all in one, mind you), so what's the deal? It didn't take me long to figure out that you're actually allowed to bring your own music. I always wrestle with what exactly I should bring, though. This time, I'm gonna give a try to Toumani Diabate's latest solo kora record, The Mande Variations. I'm thinking it'll fit the bill: it's soothing enough to keep me physically still (so I can pretend I'm being all meditative - something I've never been good at) but musically invigorating and stimulating, which will give me something to listen to and be entertained by. I'll let you know how it works out. What's your favorite music for the spa? Leave a comment and give us some ideas!

On Campus Submitted by Adam Kubota on 2009-04-23. Toumani Diabate and the 11-piece Symmetric Orchestra perform on Saturday, May 2 at 8pm in Wesleyan University's Crowell Concert Hall; pre-concert talk by Associate Professor of Music Eric Charry at 7:15pm. Tickets are $22 for general admission, $18 for seniors and $6 for students.

A few years ago, the banjo master Fleck set out to explore the birthplace of his instrument: West Africa. The results of his cross-cultural explorations are collected on a new album. He describes and performs some of his findings, with Malian kora virtuoso Diabate.

Toumani Diabate @ Stuyvesant High Over the last decade, Diabate and his Symmetric Orchestra have performed almost every Friday night at Bamako 's Hogon club .

Reuters - Mali's Toumani Diabate, a Grammy contender on Sunday in the traditional world music album category, has fans in high places.