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Bela Fleck and Mamadou Diabate Snag Gold at the Grammys

Mamadou Diabate pushed a homecoming to his native Mali aside, and in the elements that make up the American winter, braved a frenzy of cross-city travels that landed him in Los Angeles for the Grammy's this past Sunday.

"I rented a big SUV because I knew it would not be easy to drive in the snow," he said. "And it spun off the road. A couple of guys stopped to help me get back on the road. If not for them, I would not have made it. No way."

It certainly was a shining moment for the now Durham-based Manding artist, who was awarded the Grammy for his kora-laced album "Douga Mansa" in the category of "Best Traditional World Music Album". He was the only African musician nominated for the award, and was humble once again, after falling short of a win in the same category back in 2006.

"I was surprised," Diabate said. "In the Grammy category, there are no losers. Just getting nominated is a big step, and I appreciated getting the nomination. We are all winners, not everybody gets the chance even to get their name up for a Grammy."

Meanwhile, banjo afficionado Bela Fleck's newest release, "Throw Down Your Heart", has been garnering all kinds of attention in the world music community. Partnering with the likes of Toumani Diabate, Oumou Sangare, D'Gary, and Bassekou Kouyate, his unique pairing of the banjo with traditional African instruments and voice have even bled through to the American pop music scene. With now twenty Grammy awards under his belt, Fleck is of course no stranger to the L.A. stage. But this most recent endeavor departed from his mostly bluegrass-infused styles and zig-zagged him across the African continent to understand where his instrument could fit in. And did it ever. Fleck took home prizes for "Best Contemporary World Music Album" as well as "Best Pop Instrumental Performance" for the track "Throw Down Your Heart".

Fleck has of recently made available on his website unreleased tracks from his inter-continental travels, aptly titled "Throw Down Your Heart: Africa Sessions Part 2", and continues his Africa Project tour into April 2010.

To view Afropop Senior Editor Banning Eyre's review of Mamadou Diabate's "Douga Mansa", please visit:http://afropop.org/explore/album_review/ID/3553/Douga+Mansa

To learn more about Bela Fleck and The Africa Project, check out Afropop's feature by Banning Eyre:
http://afropop.org/multi/feature/ID/871/Bela+Fleck%27s+Africa+Project+on+Tour+in+America

Quotes pulled from: http://www.newsobserver.com