Volker Goetze is a musician and filmaker who has toured West Africa, Europe and Asia.  He has worked with many international artists, and has collaborated with Ablaye Cissoko, a master Kora-player and singer from Senegal.  What do you get when you team two world class musicians?  You get the album, Sira.

Sira is a beautiful album with great Kora playing by Ablaye Cissoko and inspiring trumpet playing by Volker Goetze.   Ablaye has a wonderful vocal sound–smooth and mellow–so in sync with the tone of the whole album.  I have not heard the kora played quite so well.

You are enticed into the album with the first song, ‘Sira’, which is a great preface to the rest of the album.  You are drawn by the dulcet tones of Ablaye, and the longing tones of Volker’s trumpet, into the promise of a calm and fascinating journey through great musical sound. ‘Lountang’ starts off with an almost haunting trumpet and the kora joins in, almost like a gentle waterfall.  Overall, the album would be great with coffee and a great comfortable chair.

The the artists are donating 10 percent of their profits from Sira to Tostan, an organization whose mission, says its Web site, “is to empower African communities to bring about sustainable development and positive social transformation based on respect for human rights.” Tostan, which means “breakthrough” in the West African Wolof language, has been recognized by the international community for its groundbreaking work with villagers living in extreme poverty in remote areas. (Visit their website for more information.) To learn more about this album, or read about the artists, visit the website.