Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba

Bassekou Kouyateis one of the true masters of the ngoni, an ancient traditional lute found throughout West Africa, and he has collaborated with many musicians in and outside of Mali: He played in the Symmetric trio alongsideToumani Diabate(kora) andKeletigui Diabate(balafon). He was part ofTaj Mahal’s andToumani Diabate’s ‘Kulanjan’ project, as well as being one of the key musicians onAli Farka Toure’s posthumous album ‘Savane’ which was released July 2006. He toured withAli Farka Toureleaving a lasting impression on the audience as the band’s solo ngoni player.

After his celebrated debut album ‘Segu Blue’ and the Grammy nominated follow up ‘I speak fula’, hundreds of concerts all over the globe, performing as headliner in the AfroCubism project. Just a few months ago, he appeared on stage together with SirPaul McCartney,John Paul Jones,Damon Albarnand many others at the latest Africa Express events.

In 2013Bassekou Kouyatereturned with his new album ‘Jama ko’. The album was recorded during the coup d’etat in March 2012 and isBassekou’s statement tot he ongoing crisis in Mali. The album was produced byHoward Bilerman(Arcade Fire, Godspeed you! black emperor)and featuresTaj Mahal,Khaira Arby,Mocky Salole& many others. The album became album of the year in the World Music Charts Europe 2013 and became best world music album of the year in Les Inrockuptible, Mojo, Uncut & many others.