The West African country, Mali also needs little introduction these days.  Similar to Senegal, Mali's climate is ripe with talented divas, chanteuses and musicians extraordinaire.  There are various genres representing varying cultures that make up the human geography of the vibrant country that appear on Putumayo Presents Mali.  The Tamashek group, Tinariwen brings us some desert blues, Habib Koita and his group, Bamada showcases traditional instruments such as balafon and talking drums with guitar and bass, not to mention that Habib possesses a keen talent for constructing hummable melodies.  Musical veterans, expatriates and emerging new talent such as Mamou Sidibe share space on this disc.  Other performers include, Issa Bagayogo, Boubacar Traore, Tom Diakite, Keletigui Diakite, Ramatou Diakite, Idrissa Soumaoro and Moussa Diallo (who resides in Denmark).

I would like to add that both the Brazilian and Malian artists provide us with rich melodies sung in languages that correspond to their cultures.  Both discs are acoustic for the most part and liner notes on the countries and artists are provided.  Although these notes are nowhere near as extensive as liner notes that World Music Network provides with its compilations, a listening experience can certainly be enhanced while learning a bit about the history of each performer and the genre in which they perform.  I highly recommend both compilations, but if you want something extra in the form of a CD-ROM live performance, pick up the Mali disc which features a live performance video of Habib Koite & Bamada.