Africa – The great Keba Bobo Cissoko, master jeli passed away on February 8th, 2003.
Keba was born and raised in a jeli (also known as griot) village in Guinea Bissau. He lived the traditional Jali life until he moved to Guinea in the early eighties. In Conakry, he was a member of the Ballets Africains and of the Ensemble Instrumental National. He was a founding member of the Merveilles d’Afrique and toured the world with these ensembles. Since 1996, Keba established himself as one of the greatest kora players and singers in the United States, teaching and performing all over the country. He was the leader of Tamalalou, an ensemble dedicated to perform his music. He participated in many groups and recordings; among them: Reginald Yates, Maimouna Keita, Feraba and Fula Flute.
Keba, as soloist and as leader of his group Tamalalou, was featured on the Smithsonian Folkways compilation: Badenya, Manden Jaliya in New York City.
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.
