Visa problems forced Toumani Diabate to delay this show but, as he hobbled on to the stage balancing on a crutch, you’d be forgiven for thinking the delay might have been the result of something worse. His Mali homeland is still in political and military turmoil. He dedicated the final number, Lampeduza, to 300 Africans who died in one night trying to reach Europe.

Lampeduza is the only original off his recent record with his 23-year-old son, Sidiki and the pair traded rhythms on their 21-string rosewood and cowhide koras, with the sombre melodies floating over the auditorium, taking Toumani’s dreams of progress to fresh ears.

The record, Sidiki And Toumani, has father and son rediscovering lost Griot tunes. Though the West African bards’ ancestry goes back hundreds of years, seeing them perform together is rare.

Sidiki, a hip-hop star in Mali, his leather jacket contrasting with his father’s traditional print, is taking the music on for a new generation. They used to worry Toumani was too contemporary, now they’ll say the same about Sidiki: he improvised new rhythms, tapped and clicked his fingers and popped the strings. It all worked though. He is, after all, number 72 in the Griot family line.