Bassist-composer Ben Allison gives his lyrical, swinging music a delightful twist by adding kora player Mamadou Diabate to a standard jazz quartet. But Allison hasn’t taken the easy way out by writing world-music/jazz fusions. This is inventive modern jazz whose character has been altered by the presence of the kora, not traditional kora music given a jazz treatment. Influenced by the delicacy of Diabate’s instrument, Allison’s writing and bass playing weave countermelodies and vamps behind the soloists, creating multi-layered grooves over which he floats jazzy melodies. The title track is full of lovely turns of phrase and surprising harmonic depths entwined with an ethereal kora vamp.

Pianist Frank Kimbrough helps provide the melodic and rhythmic underpinnings along with Diabate. His solo on "Slap Happy" bridges the music’s dual foundations as it moves from funky patterns played with damped piano strings into lovely jazz lines. Michael Blake’s airy and at times celestial soprano sax provides melancholy romanticism on "Peace Pipe," and his tenor adds muscle to "Dakan." Drummer Michael Sarin maintains the pulse but keeps things loose and flowing in a jazz vein. Diabate is featured throughout, and his sparkling cascades of notes, relaxed drive, and simple but profound melodicism quietly dominate the band.