Monday was a night of "and now, for something completely different." I rushed downtown after work and was able to jump on to the end of the line that was filing in to Kilbourn Hall for the six-o'-clock performance of the Mamadou Diabate Ensemble. I'd heard rave reviews of his previous visit to the jazz fest two years ago and didn't want to miss him this time through. Diabate is a master of the kora, a twenty-one stringed instrument from Western Africa (Diabate is from Mali) and this time through, he was backed by a bass guitar, traditional African percussion including the talking drum, and a balafon. To the oft-repeated question, &lduqo;is this jazz?” directed at certain jazz fest acts, I answer, “Who cares?” The music was complex, but engaging. Actually, “engaging” is something of an understatement as Diabate's group had the entire capacity crowd on their feet and dancing by the end of the show.

I met up with Greg who was sitting a dozen or so seats away from me in Kilbourn Hall and we headed over to to meet Seth and Jane for the next of, what was for me, an unbroken streak of Nordic jazz so far in the festival. Monday's entry was midaircondo, Lisa Nordström on bass flute, Lisen Rylander on tenor sax, and both performers on a variety of electronically enhanced sound-making devices and kitchen implements. Outside of Lotte Anker, this was the most “out-there” music of the festival. Unlike Anker, whom I found merely interesting, this show was entrancing. Jeff Spevak called it “music under construction” which perfectly describes this duo's approach as they layered sound upon sound using samplers and sequencers to create a soundscape against which they would occasionally sing or play their instruments.¹ All this technology comes at a price: the show had a late start as some electrical issues needed to be ironed out, but delay was a small price to pay for such captivating entertainment.

After the West African rhythms and the Nordic electronica, the gang headed to the Montage to round out the night with a grooving trombone trio headed by Robin Eubanks. We had some extra time before the show, so Seth, Greg, and I spit out the next episode of our Da Jazz podcast in which I struggle to pronounce “Mamadou”, Greg impresses with his knowledge of the griot tradition, and Seth describes how Walt Whitman helps him appreciate jazz.

After wrapping that up, we settled in to enjoy Eubanks' electronically enhanced trombone and rock solid rhythm section. The music was hot and the grooves were solid. I was fading fast, but was able to hang in for all but the encore. The last tune Eubanks played was a blues tribute to Jimmy Hendrix, the perfect ending for such an eclectic night.