National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

A historic, 15-track compilation. Fasten your seatbelts - this is one wild ride. It's as crisp and precise as Congolese guitar, but much more angular and darting. Instead of cycling or sustained melodies, these guys play in fitful, short bursts of start-and-stop action, with speedy, nervous phrasing suggestive of an animal on the run from a predator. But in the hands of a master like Jean Noël, or Niriko, the soloist for Tsy An-Jaza, the technique and style is exceptional, right down to the chiming harmonics at the end of an edgy solo.

— CalabashMusic.com