Bassekou Kouyate is one of the true masters of the ngoni, an ancient traditional lute found throughout West Africa, and he has collaborated with many…
Artist Profiles: Bassekou Kouyate
Tag: Malian music
Artist Profiles: Djelimady Tounkara
Djelimady Tounkara’s name has become synonymous with Mali’s legendary Rail Band. He has seen the band through a quarter century of colorful history and constant…
Vieux Farka Touré to Inaugurate Desert Blues Concert Series in New York City
Malian guitar maestro Vieux Farka Touré is set to perform Saturday, October 1, 2016 at (Le) Poisson Rouge. This concert will mark the beginning of…
Artist Profiles: Ali Farka Toure
Ali Farka Toure was born in 1939 in Gourmararusse (in the Timbuktu region), Mali, into the noble Sorhai family. Being of noble birth, he should…
The Shiny Treasure of Vieux Kante
Vieux Kante – The Young Man’s Harp (Sterns Africa, 2016) I suspect that unseen, undiscovered masters of all shapes, sizes and disciplines brush past us…
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 Sidibe
Mamadou Sidibe was the first person to change the traditional Malian instrument the doso ngoni, to the now popular kamele ngoni. He changed the number…
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: Fode Lassana Diabaté
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…