**** Hank Jones meets Cheick-Tidiane-Seck and the Mandinkas

SARALA

(Verve)

Jazz great Jones concentrates on the music of the Manding people of Senegal, Gambia, Mali, and Guinea. Aside from having a historical link to America -- many of the first African slaves to come to these shores were Manding -- the music makes an easy fit with jazz because it emphasizes melodic fluidity, rhythmic freedom, and improvisation. Cheick-Tidiane-Seck grew up in Manding musical tradition, but he also pioneered Manding pop of the '60s and '70s. After years in Paris, Seck knows both sides of the equation well. On these tracks, he sings, plays keyboards (including Hammond B3 organ), and arranges for a group of West African artists who can work together without strain or artifice. Rifling acoustic string melodies, chattering wooden xylophones, and propulsive hand percussion underlie most of these tracks. Jones, for his part, plunges into traditional repertoire, never letting this turn into an album of jazz compositions with African elements. But when he steps out for a solo, he's breathtakingly unrestrained, as in his passionate turn on "Fatangué," an adaptation of a classic slow minor-key Manding tune. This may be the best African-music release of the year; it's a fine jazz record as well.

-- Banning Eyre