Released in 1995, Sarala marked its time by generating a genuine enthusiasm for Mandingo music, encouraging many Western musicians to go to Mali and explore this music at its very source. Fruit of the reunion of Hank Jones ( an African-American musician and one of the most gifted pianists of his generation ) and Cheick-Tidiane Seck ( a reputed arranger, band-leader, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Mali) the album is a symbiosis - one of the spirit and the heart - of two genres.