Dembo Jobarteh was a member of a well know jeli family (known as Jobarteh in Gambia and Diabate in Mali). His father played the kora…
Artist Profiles: Dembo Jobarteh
Tag: jeli
Artist Profiles: Kassé Mady Diabaté
Kassé Mady Diabaté was one of West Africa’s greatest voices and one of the most cherished singers in Mali. He was known for his profound knowledge…
Trio Da Kali Announces US Tour
Contemporary Mandé griot act Trio Da Kali has announced its upcoming American tour. Trio Da Kali features Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté on vocals, Lassana Diabaté…
Artist Profiles: Foday Musa Suso
Foday Musa Suso is an internationally recognized musician and a Manding griot from the West African nation of Gambia. Griots are the oral historians and…
Malian Kora Maestro Toumani Diabate
Toumani Diabate was one of the most brilliant players of the kora (a 21-string harp-lute from West Africa). He was born in 1965 in Bamako…
Artist Profiles: Mamadou Diabate (kora)
Mamadou Diabaté was born in 1975 in Kita, a Malian city long known as a center for the arts and culture of the Manding people…
Artist Profiles: Madou Sidiki Diabate
Madou Sidiki Diabate presents a night of traditional West African music that dates back centuries. While relatives – his famous older brother Toumani Diabate and…
Artist Profiles: Sekouba “Bambino” Diabaté
Sekouba “Bambino” Diabaté was born in the small village of Siguiri (Guinea) near the Malian border. He is descended from griots or jeli (a caste…
Artist Profiles: African Virtuoses
Originally called Les Freres Diabate (The Diabate Brothers), the African Virtuoses were essentially a family band. But the Diabates were no ordinary family. For generations…
Artist Profiles: Abdoulaye Diabate
Abdoulaye Diabate comes from the Segu region of Mali. He was born in 1952, son of Baba Diabate, traditional chief of the Diabate jelis of…