Fode Lassana Diabaté was born in Conakry, Guinea, in 1971 into a family of virtuoso bala (balaphone) players, Lassana Diabaté has been playing the bala since he was five years old. He moved as a young man to Bamako (Mali) in the early 1990s. He has since become one of Mali’s most gifted player of the 22-key xylophone of the Mandé jelis (griots), appearing on albums by Salif Keita, Bassekou Kouyate, and Kasse Mady Diabaté, among others, and has been a long-standing member of Toumani Diabaté’s Symmetric Orchestra. He also played on Kulanjan, Toumani’s celebrated collaboration with the American bluesman Taj Mahal.
An innovator on his instrument, on the AfroCubism project, he can be heard playing two balaphones tuned a semi-tone apart, extending the harmonic range of what is a fixed pitch instrument and allowing greater scope for improvisation.
Discography:
Kulanjan (1999)
Boulevard de l’Independance (World Circuit, 2006), with Symmetric Orchestra
AfroCubism (World circuit, 2010)
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.
