Kiriké (Six Degrees/ No Format!, 2015)
Malian jeli (griot) artist Kassé Mady Diabaté has one of the finest voices in West Africa. He belongs to a well-known family of oral historians, praise-singers and hereditary musicians in Mali. His voice has appeared in many traditional and modern recordings with international stars as Ketama (Songhai) and Taj Mahal (Kulanjan). Kassé Mady Diabaté latest recording, Kiriké turns to the acoustic music tradition of the griots. It’s Ballaké Sissoko’s and Vincent Segal’s tribute to the great voice of Kassé Mady Diabaté.
Ballaké Sissoko is one of the great kora players in Mali. He has been collaborating with French cellist Vincent Segal on a series of albums, Chamber Music (2009) and At Peace (2012), Kiriké follows the intimate atmosphere style with an acoustic album featuring Kassé Mady Diabaté performing a series of original praise songs (except one) sung in Bambara surrounded by some of the finest Malian jeli musicians along with the tasteful, non-obtrusive cello of Vincent Segal.
The lineup on Kiriké includes Kassé Mady Diabaté on vocals; Ballaké Sissoko on kora music; Lansiné Kouyaté on bala (balaphone), a wooden xylophone; Makan Tounkara on ngoni; and Vincent Segal on cello.
Kiriké is a splendid example of griot music, performed by some of the finest traditional musicians in the current Malian music scene.
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Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
