The Paris Session

Editors’ Notes Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré and Israeli pianist Idan Raichel impressed on 2012’s The Tel Aviv Session the debut album by The Toure-Raichel Collective. The group melded West African and Middle Eastern sounds in spare, elegant ways. The Paris Session continues in the same vein, but here Raichel steps into the spotlight more. On the opener, “From End to End,” Touré and Senegalese bassist Daby Touré back Niv Toar’s trumpet runs and Raichel’s finely shaped lines. “Diaraby” finds Raichel’s piano and Vieux Farka Touré’s impassioned vocals meshing nicely. Electric piano expands the timbral palette on “Deni Deni,” which has fine lead work by Touré.