Pop Music Review : Rhythmic Voltage Courses Through This Africa Fe^te

Anticipation was in the air on Sunday at the Watercourt at downtown’s California Plaza. But it took a while for it to be rewarded.

The Africa Fe^te concert promised to be one of the most impressive events in the summer-long Grand Performances series of free programs, and the opening performances by Zimbabwe’s rich-voiced Oliver Mtukudzi and Kulanjan, a collaboration between blues artist Taj Mahal and Malian kora player Toumani Diabate and his ensemble delivered plenty of rhythmic voltage.

Kulanjan was particularly entertaining. Although the combination of Mahal’s blues and the Diabate group’s multi-kora instrumentation didn’t always make a convincing blend, there was no denying their appeal as individual elements. Mahal’s gravelly voice, his mastery as a storyteller and his supportive guitar playing were superb, even on their own. And Diabate, a virtuoso on the lyre-like kora, led his ensemble in a set of traditional music that was performed--both visually and aurally--with elegance and style.

By this point, however, the packed crowd was ready to boogie, and the arrival of headliner Baaba Maal finally gave it the needed opportunity. Maal has created one of the most perfectly packaged African music groups, effectively combining the Fulani traditional music of Senegal with driving electronic grooves, colorful costuming and plenty of musicians and dancers.

After only a few bars of his opening number, the Watercourt was rocking, with audience members dancing perilously, but happily, at the edges of the numerous pools and fountains. And Maal made the most of the setting, frequently loping down the stepped front of the stage onto a platform extending over the water, encouraging his entourage of musicians and dancers to join him.

It was Maal at his crowd-pleasing best, delivering a performance that was less concerned with musicality than with sheer, body-moving excitement.