World Music With a Side of Bob Dylan

There’s world music from Iran, Mali, Algeria, Egypt, and Benin, with occasional Bob Dylan on this New Sounds program. Listen to music from the late Malian guitarist and griot Tiecoro Sissoko, who also played as a sideman for years with Toumani Diabate in Bamako. We'll hear the title track of his only recording, which praises Keme Borama (Bourama), the brother of Samory Touré, noted 19th century warlord who fought against the French occupation of Guinea. Then, hear a celebration of African women from Angelique Kidjo’s latest, “Eve,” where Kidjo recorded women from Benin, Kenya, and numerous African countries, and used those tapes as the basis for her songs.

Plus, hear selections from a most daring and excellent new world music tribute to Bob Dylan, produced by Alain Weber. Weber is also a founding member of Musicians of the Nile, who are a group of gypsy musicians from Egypt. His pairings of artists and song choices are especially inclusive, yet well-chosen, creatively bringing together many world religions and cultures. Hear the tune “Man Gave Names to All the Animals” from Jewish-born Dylan’s Christian period as rendered by Muslim singer Sayfi Mohamed Tahar from Algeria, linking the three Abrahamic religions. Listen also to the soulful Iranian singer Salah Aghili’s version of “Every Grain of Sand,” another from Dylan-as-Christian, but replacing Dylan’s words with those of 13th century Islamic Sufi poet Rumi. Also on the tribute record is a version of “With God On Our Side” as sung by Lhamo Dukpa, a Tibetan Buddhist from Bhutan, along with a version of “Tamborine Man” by Purna Das Baul of the mystic minstrels of Bengal. The record is a must-have for Dylan fans and world music explorers alike. All that, and more.