Summoning the sounds of West Africa to their jazz-infused music, Balimaya Project are determined to differentiate themselves from broad-stroked descriptions of London’s jazz scene (Afrobeat and Highlife are not on the menu here). Instead, this 16-piece project (of which 12 are present this evening) are more concerned with folklore specifically rooted in Mandé culture, placing traditional instruments such as the kora and djembe drum centre stage. Percussion, in its many shapes and shades, make up the majority of this collective and orbit around bandleader Yahael Camara Onono’s djembe, whose intensity and stage presence has its own gravitational pull.

Songs flutter into existence with kora solos and guitar loops before building into intoxicating crescendos as bass, piano and brass belt out their polyrhythmic parts. Tonight’s setlist focuses on their most recent album When The Dust Settles. Onono explains that this title refers to common gatherings which take place in town squares, where as a preamble to issues being discussed and resolved, townspeople dance and ‘kick up dust’. It feels poetic that by the end of this gig, the bulk of its Queen’s Hall crowd is dancing in the aisles. The musicianship is stellar, of course, but it is spirit and intention that have created this magic. 

Balimaya Project reviewed at Queen’s Hall as part of Edinburgh International Festival; main picture: Andrew Perry.