Mali Blues

This stirring and occasionally startling documentary offers real-life examples of how radical Islamists—jihadists—are disrupting cultural legacies on a global scale. Filmmaker Lutz Gregor focuses on four Malian musicians who write and perform despite the dangers of repression by religious extremists. As radical Islamists moved into the country's northern regions earlier this decade, musicians were forced to either flee the country or head south. The subjects of Gregor's work took the latter course, and here they band together to talk, compare notes, and play a 2015 concert on the banks of the Niger River. The musicians are singer-guitarist Fatoumata Diawara; Grammy-nominated Bassekou Kouyaté, who plays a traditional string instrument called the ngoni (which he has wired to a wah-wah pedal at one point); young rapper Master Soumy, whose lyrics take on the extremists; and guitar virtuoso Ahmed Ag Kaedi, who was threatened by radicals with amputation of his fingers. The work of these musicians will certainly appeal to aficionados of world music, although it's also important to remember that the roots of jazz and blues in the West lie in these African rhythms. Mixing interviews with performance footage and luxurious shots of the surrounding countryside, this music documentary with a powerful social message is recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)