Racines is the musical project of Laurent Perrault-Jolicoeur, a double bassist, composer and improviser who graduated from McGill’s Schulich School of Music in 2022 and has been active on the Montreal scene since 2017, and Zal Sissokho, a griot, korafola and singer best known for his unconventional projects such as Famalé and Kora Flamenca, for which he received the Félix Award for World Music Album of the Year in 2020 and the World Music Album of the Year award at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2021.

With Racines, the two virtuoso composers seek to retrace and reweave the links between Mandinka music and jazz by blending their distinct worlds through ethereal compositions where the rhythms, harmonies and improvisation characteristic of these centuries-old traditions intertwine. They offer an extraordinary musical dialogue, spanning memory, identity and modernity, through ten original pieces conceived as a conversation between West Africa and North America.

Driven by attentive listening and a shared desire for openness, Racines oscillates between subtle grooves and melodic flights of fancy, where the depth of the double bass meets the poetry of the kora. The album transcends genres and stands out as a work of cultural fusion, nourished by humanity and freedom.