Trio Da Kali takes the music of Mali back to its ancient roots, at the same time exploring new sonic spaces for a contemporary flavour. The group’s debut album, Ladilikan, released last month, is a collaboration with San Francisco’s famed Kronos Quartet that effortlessly spans the ground between the western classical tradition and the rich heritage of the griots.

Storytellers and praise-singers, the griots and their culture are found throughout the territories once part of the medieval Mali Empire that nurtured their art. “All three of us are griots,” says Lassana Diabaté, musical director of Trio Da Kali, reached on tour in Nelsonville, Ohio. “I play the balafon [a marimba with gourd resonators], which is the very first instrument of the Man­ding. It wasn’t necessarily only to get people dancing, or used for celebration—it could also be classical. I’ve worked to make music on the balafon that’s for listening.”

Trio Da Kali’s other members are bass ngoni (banjo-lute) player Mamadou Kouyaté and vocalist Hawa Diabaté, daughter of one of Mali’s greatest singers. The Diabatés are among the leading griot families, and for a long time Lassana was a member of kora master Toumani Diabaté’s Symmetric Orchestra, which performed at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival some years ago. More recently Kouyaté played here with his father Bassekou’s band Ngoni Ba.

Soon after forming, Trio Da Kali came to the attention of David Harrington, founder and musical director of Kronos Quartet. “The idea at first was not for us to make an album, just to do a few concerts together,” says Lassana. “So they wanted us to record some music and send it for them to work on. Dr. Lucy Duran in England, someone I’ve worked with a lot and who knew Kronos Quartet, helped me select songs with them in mind.”

The two groups first met in San Francisco on the occasion of Kronos Quartet’s 40th-anniversary bash in 2014. “We only played a couple of things but the next day the press were all over us, and someone immediately booked us. People were thrilled by what we did together—and all of us were thrilled too. David Harrington said that we had to take such a collaboration further—or someone else would do. We only rehearsed a few days before recording together, then flew off to play the Montreux [Jazz] Festival. After that the trio went on to play at the BBC Proms, and tour the U.K.. The response was amazing.”

For the music on Ladilikan Trio Da Kali drew inspiration both from their griot predecessors and a fresh influence—U.S. gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. “The first time we met Kronos Quartet, immediately after Hawa had sung, David went to get an album he had of Mahalia Jackson, and said to Hawa ‘She’s so much like you—the power, range, and the phrasing in her voice.’ So he gave us that album, and Lucy translated the words. We worked with that. When we first heard our griot music played by violins, viola, and cello, I felt it was going to be the best collaboration of my life. And it is.”

Trio Da Kali plays St. James Hall on Friday (October 6).