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…
Malian Kora Maestro Toumani Diabate
Tag: Malian music
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…
Artist Profiles: Khaira Arby
Khaira Arby, also known as the Nightingale of the North, was born in the village of Abaradjou in the Sahara Desert north of Timbuktu (Mali).…
Artist Profiles: Balla Kouyate
Nicknamed Balafon Mania, Balla Kouyaté is considered to be among the greatest bala (balaphone or balafon) players in the world today. A virtuoso, he plays…
Maggie the Pony Helps Mamadou Kelly and Ban Kai Na
Malian blues act Mamadou Kelly and Ban Kai Na ran into problems last week during their American tour when the one string of their…
Artist Profiles: Fatoumata Diawara
Fatoumata Diawara (a.k.a. Fatou) was born of Malian parents in the Ivory Coast in 1982. As a child she became a member of her father’s…
Mamadou Kelly and Ban Kai Na Begin 2016 USA Tour
One of Mali’s greatest guitarists, Mamadou Kelly, will be touring North America in July and August with his band Ban Kai Na. A guitar prodigy…