Keletigui Traoré was already a respected professional flutist and saxophonist when he was invited to join the Syli Orchestre National in 1959. In the mid 60s he and several other members of the national orchestra formed a dance band called Orchestre de la Paillote. In 1968 they made their first recordings (including the first track in this compilation), and a year later they changed their name to Keletigui et Ses Tambourinis.Keletigui sang and so did trumpeter Kerfala Camara and bass-guitarist Manfila Dabadou Kanté, but the Tambourinis were best known as an instrumental powerhouse. In addition to his flute and tenor sax, Keletigui also played an electric organ, and his ten-man band included the great alto and soprano saxophonist Momo Wandel Soumah, guitarist Linke Condé, and bala-xylphonist Lansana Diabaté.Keletigui Traoré died in 2008 at the age of 74. This 2-CD boxed set, complete with an illustrated and annotated 44-page booklet, celebrates his most creative years, 1968 to 1976, and is presented as a tribute to his remarkable life and music.