Two notable appearances in February:

Ballaké Sissoko, the great kora master from Mali made an extremly rare (first ever?) appearance in Canada, in a solo show at York University on Feb. 5. No photography allowed during the show, but the concert was filmed and recorded for a CD. Toronto-based Guinean griot, Katenen "Cheka" Dioubaté sang on the last few numbers.

Emmanuel Jal who spent several years as a child soldier in Sudan, and whose 2005 CD, Crossfire was one of that year's best spoke movingly about his experiences on Feb. 18 at the University of Toronto, in support of his new book, Warchild (also the name of his new CD, and a documentary film about him.

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