Ntsano

What did the short-lived Quebeçois group Mara – helmed by Canadian percussionist Pierre Tanguay – sound like without the addition of special guest Vasconcelos? We have only this one album to their credit, so we might never know. But with Naná’s innumerable bits of hand percussion, bird calls, and his spiritual presence placed front and center, this 1983 album Ntsana is a gem, suggesting a spontaneous group sound that could be patient, ritualistic, and cosmic.