The Malian virtuoso Bassekou Kouyate is probably the world's most celebrated player of the ngoni, a traditional West African instrument that sounds a bit like a banjo and is shaped like a cricket bat. Grammy-nominated and much admired by the likes of Damon Albarn, Béla Fleck and Taj Mahal (who guests here), Kouyate is a charismatic bandleader, wielding his ngoni with a master's precision and a rock star's flair, his artistry supplemented by the sweetly nasal vocals of his wife Amy Sacko – a star in her own right. Having inadvertently recorded Jama Ko in the middle of the military coup in Bamako – the event that arguably unleashed the crisis in the north of Mali – Kouyate seems to have been both angered and inspired. ‘Ne me fatigue (Don’t Wear Me Out)' is a pedal-to-the-metal plea for tolerance; ‘Kele Magni’ is a sumptuous duet between Amy Sacko and Timbuktu songbird Khaira Arby, who'd been forced to flee her hometown in the north. Beautifully produced, full of light and shade – there's some heavenly balafon playing from Lassana Diabaté – Jama Ko references the past, and offers hope for the future.

Jazzwise spoke to Bassekou Kouyate about the album

You recorded Jama Ko in Bamako in March 2012, during the coup. What is your strongest memory of this time?

We were getting on with the recording and had several visiting journalists and technicians with us. All of a sudden we heard gunfire and to our surprise we were told it was a coup d'état. From then on we worked to finish the recording in good time, but it was a struggle to ferry our visitors around town, to keep a supply of petrol for the car, when it was being sold for five times the normal price, and ward off unsteady soldiers who were trying to take cars away from drivers. Getting all the visitors out on one of the rare flights to leave Bamako was quite an adventure.

Can you tell me about two different tracks – what are they about? What do they sound like?

One is called ‘Jama Ko’, which is typical community party music, that is common for huge wedding and baptism ceremonies that everyone is welcome to attend. We made a video clip of this song by inviting friends and neighbours to the house so that we had Christians, Muslims, Bamana people, Touareg, etc. There was a great party atmosphere, with cheerful ngoni music. The second track is ‘Mali Kore’, a very old work song that celebrates the prowess of particularly successful farmers. This is a more serious piece of music, and we called on traditional instruments, including ngonis and the bara which is a skin covered heavy calabash, and the huge pentatonic balafon. These are all typical instruments of the Malian cotton growing area and are still used to encourage farm workers to enormous efforts to work the fields.

Tell me your favourite memory of 2012's Africa Express?

There was the terrific experience of playing on stage with the legendary Paul McCartney and Damon Albarn. But I also loved the experience of living on a train for a week, and rehearsing with a great variety of musicians.

Who is your favourite western artist to collaborate with and why?

I have been lucky enough to collaborate with a number of western artists and have enjoyed making music with them all. Perhaps the one who really stands out is Béla Fleck who fascinates me. He is quicker than anybody else to pick up new ideas, so that I sometimes think he is not a man but a machine. I'd really like to work on a duo with him in the future.