Kane Mathis’ study of the kora and oud for about 25 years stems from his interest in musics where functional harmony was not the main priority. In oud music, the melodies were composed without harmonic concern then added later. In kora music, the melody is also a greater priority than evolving harmonic structures. As these two traditions captured his interest in this way, Kane Mathis went on to study them both formally.

Geminus features ten tracks of Mathis’ original compositions accompanied by New York-based musicians John Hadfield (drums) and Sam Minaie (bass). Recorded live during three days, the album offers jazzy explorations built on interesting scales, melodic riffs, and propulsive rhythms. It’s no wonder the album is doing so well on The Roots Music Report's Top 50 World Album Chart.  On six tracks, Mathis plays oud, and on four tracks, his instrument of choice is kora. The oud has an earthy and sinewy sound, while the kora is resonant and harp-like. Mathis didn’t consider overdubbing both instruments because he wanted this project to have a live quality that showed the instruments in a very exposed, unadorned way, as well as to be able to reproduce the arrangements live.

Mathis plays the Turkish fretless oud, a lute with eleven strings (five pairs and one single). Simply meaning “the wood,” the oud has had a place in Arabic music since its early use as accompaniment to poetry presented by wandering minstrels. After studying in Istanbul, Mathis became a popular soloist with various ensembles in North America. Standout oud tracks on Geminus include “Kürdi 7 and 9,” “Muhayyer Kürdi Semai” “August” and “Nikriz Sirto.”

Then in The Gambia, West Africa, Mathis became quite well known and celebrated for his devotion to the Mandinka harp (kora). The people’s music there is distinctive, lively, syncopated and driving. While Mathis’ music includes no vocals, his arrangements certainly allow for plenty of dynamics and improvisation on one of the world’s great solo instruments with its standard 21 strings, wide notched bridge and large gourd resonator.

I recall when Foday Musa Suso worked with Herbie Hancock and Bill Laswell. Suso came from Africa in the late 1970s and formed the Mandingo Griot Society. There have also been flamenco and classical crossover kora albums from Toumani Diabate (from Mali), as well as amplified rocking kora music put out by Mory Kante with a unique, linear jazzy style he introduced to European clubs. I’m sure that Kane Mathis has studied the works of Wandifeng Jobarteh, legendary kora-player and composer of some of The Gambia’s most oft-played tunes. And while we may not quickly recall his name, Alhaji Bai Konteh was the first kora player to tour the U.S. and appeared at Woodstock.

Kane Mathis’ acrobatic style seems to incorporate many techniques from picking melodies, strumming accompaniment, pinching strings, to staccato effects or maybe even bluesy tunings for certain colorings and impressions. Mathis has a clear vision for his trio sound, perhaps not too dissimilar from that Jaliba Kuyateh had when he led his ensemble featuring kora, percussion and bass. Standout kora tracks on Geminus include “Route Des Jardins,” “Kaira,” “Chant” and “Gemini.”

Kora players from The Gambia often talk about “beating the kora” (ka kora kosi), in contrast to kora players from Mali and Guinea who talk about “speaking the kora” (ka kora fo) as an instrument of accompaniment, often for women singing solo. In any case, it’s said that all great kora players may have made pacts with the djinns (devils) and may be somewhat possessed or bewitched. Folk tales also reference how too much virtuosity can make a musician vulnerable to illness. I sincerely hope that’s not true, and that Kane Mathis stays healthy because his jazzy world music presented on Geminus has much crossover potential. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)