Traore’s Singing Reveals Influence of Wide Travels

Few parts of the world have produced more extraordinary musical talents than the West African countries of Mali and Guinea. A short list of the major artists from the region would have to include Oumou Sangare, Salif Keita, Mory Kante, Toumani Diabate and Ali Farka Toure. And there are dozens of others--all coming from an area with minimal recording technology.

And they keep on coming. Rokia Traore is one of the latest--a 25-year-old singer-songwriter who is part of a new generation of young, acoustically oriented African artists who comfortably incorporate other musical elements into their artistic concepts. Although she was born in Mali, this diplomat’s daughter was raised with a global perspective, living at various times in Algeria, Saudi Arabia, France and Belgium.

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As a result, she has developed a sophisticated world view that emerges in the flow of music simmering with sounds ranging from the African kora and balafon to Indian raga and Afro pop-soul, often via delicately woven vocal harmonies reminiscent of Marie Daulne’s work with Zap Mama.

“Tonalities that are foreign to my language call out to me, suggesting surprising melodies,” she says. Her primary influences are jazz, classical and rock, and she is especially fond of Ella Fitzgerald, Tina Turner and Joe Zawinul.

Traore’s just-released second album, “Wanita” (Indigo Records), is a perfect example of her broad eclecticism--the work of an artist who is quickly establishing her own powerful identity. The texture of the performances is spare and open, breathing freely through rhythms that often are implied rather than stated, pulling the listener directly into the process.

Except for a song in French, the songs are sung in Bamanan, Traore’s native language. But her singing--ranging from a sweet-sounding mid-range to a Keita-like intensity in her higher notes--is filled with such emotional coloration that her messages often bypass barriers of language.

A song such as “Mancipera,” for example, an anthem calling for female emancipation, sung as a duet with Boubacar Traore, communicates its message with intense musical clarity.

“What’s important to me,” says Traore, “is to choose the right modulation with respect to the intensity of the note, while preserving its delicacy, which gives all the color to my singing.”

* Rokia Traore appears Sunday at LunaPark, 665 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood. (310) 652-0611.

Globe Trotting: It’s hard to believe that the highly regarded Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour has not had a U.S. album in six years. This despite three major-label U.S. releases in the first half of the ‘90s--”Set,” “Eyes Open” and “The Guide (Wommat)”--a Grammy nomination (for “Eyes Open”) and an international hit--”7 Seconds,” a duet with Neneh Cherry.

That unexplainable omission has been corrected via a Nonesuch licensing deal with Sony France that will result in a new U.S. album, “Joko (The Link),” in September.

The music, according to N’Dour, represents his effort to explore the connection between the African village and the West. He will tour in support of the release in late October to early November, including a stop to be scheduled in the Southland. . . .

The Verve Music Group’s Blue Thumb Records is stepping into the world music arena via the release of a quartet of new recordings: legendary Brazilian singer-composer Caetano Veloso’s “Prenda Minha,” percussionist Trilok Gurtu’s “African Fantasy,” drummer-singer Mino Cinelu’s “Mino Cinelu” and guitarist Marcio Faraco’s “Ciranda.” The albums represent an expansion of style for Blue Thumb, which in the past has primarily been identified with blues and R&B;, with artists such as Captain Beefheart, the Pointer Sisters and Ike & Tina Turner on its roster in its early years (1968-’74).

More recently it has showcased blues performers such as Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Mighty Mo Rodgers. Verve Music Group President Ron Goldstein says it’s a step in the direction of the label’s goal to “represent adult music from A to Z.” . . .

Smithsonian Folkways’ 20-volume “Music of Indonesia” is a remarkable overview of an astonishingly rich cultural tradition, with music ranging from instrumental to vocal, gamelan and part singing to church harmonies and brass bands.

But 20 volumes is 20 volumes. So Smithsonian has now released a 15-track CD, “Discover Indonesia,” that provides both an introduction and a quick overview of the material in the critically acclaimed series.

Indipop diva Sheila Chandra’s early recordings from the ‘80s continue to be released by Narada.

“Out On My Own,” the third of five CDs scheduled to be issued, was her first solo album, and her first effort to fuse Asian and Western sounds via the studio layering of voice, tabla, keyboards and sitars.