Rolling Stone (8/19/99, p.115) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...an unusually relaxed collaboration....A jam-session informality prevails....Cultural exchanges don't sound more organic or revelatory than [this]..."
Spin (9/99, p.197) - 9 out of 10 - "...[Mahal's] chance to check out his abiding suspicion that all black musics are one, which he accomplishes with his trademark joie de vivre..."
Q (1/00, p.84) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1999."
Q (10/99, p.131) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Taj Mahal hits his stride....the results are mostly first class...KULANJAN radiates heat and light. Stunning..."
CMJ (1/10/00, p.5) - Ranked #19 in CMJ's "Top 30 Editorial Picks [for 1999] - "...profound and beautiful....A classic in its own right, [It] is one of those rare albums that looks great on paper and then follows through brilliantly in practice."
Dirty Linen (12/99-1/00, p.59) - "...an extraordinary recording, documenting eight very gifted musicians successfully finding a common ground between African and African-American musical styles."
Mojo (Publisher) (10/99, p.122) - "...a bewitching, haunting fusion of styles that renders irrelevant discussion of the roots of the blues....By the end you'll be smitten..."
Personnel: Taj "Dadi Kouyate" Mahal (vocals, guitar, piano); Kassemady Diabate, Ramatou Diakite (vocals); Banning (guitar); Ugouye Koulibaly (kamalengoni); Toumani Diabate, Ballake Sissoko (kora); Bassekou Kouyate (ngoni, bass); Lasana Diabate (Mande balafon).
Recorded at John Keane Studios, Athens, Georgia. Includes liner notes by Lucy Duran.