BOUBACAR TRAORE (Thursday) This extraordinary guitarist and singer from Mali could give austerity lessons to minimalists. He might play an entire set of songs in one key, plucking patterns on his guitar accompanied only by a percussionist tapping a gourd. But his guitar parts turn two-chord vamps into a three-dimensional matrix of bass lines, upper-register replies, obstinate trills and melodies shared with his kindly voice. His music transmutes basic elements into profound incantations. 8 p.m., Leonard Nimoy Thalia, Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street, (212)864-5400; $25; members and children, $21; students, $15.