Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique: Djagbawara Sali

Frank Bessem's
Musiques d'Afrique:

Djagbawara Sali
(Mali)

Musiques d'Afrique
Musiques du Mali

Djagbawara Sali or Djagawara Saly (as written on her latest cassette album), is a popular singer from the wassoulou region is the south of Mali. As most musicians from this area, Sali started singing early, with friends but also with her mother who was a singer too. When she settled in Bamako, she was soon noticed by fellow Wassoulou countrymen and frequently invited to sing at ceremonies and cultural manifestations. The success of those appearances and the attention of local media led to a first album produced by Samassa records. Sali recorded a second album in Abidjan, as, at the time, there were no good studios in Mali yet. Unfortunately, the lack of promotion of that album didn't bring the commercial success Sali hoped for. In 1999, she signed up with Mali K7, the biggest label and distributor in Mali and the album « Daga Kolon » was quite a success. In 2003, she signed a contract again with Mali K7 for three albums, the first came out in 2004. As Mali K7 is now in a dormant state due to excessive piracy in Malian music industry, it is unsure whether the other three albums will be recorded in Mali K7's Bogolan studio.

Sali's artists name « Djagbawara » stands for the rhythm derived from the « djaga » (a traditional dance from her region) and the « sigui » (a musical style from her village), which is similar to the rhythms well-known from the Wassoulou region in the south of Mali, such as the « bari » and the « didadi ».
She is married to Yoro Diallo, a respected kamelen n’goni player in the wassoulou music scene.

You can listen to the song Nalé.

Source: Mali K7

Born: in Mariya-ferela (arrondissement de Yorobougoula), as Salimata Diakité
Style: Wassoulou, kamalen n'goni.

Discography:

Title	Year	Label	Remarks
Wassolon Sira	2004	Mali K7 S.A.	Local cassette production
Daga kolon	1999	Mali K7 S.A.	Local cassette & CD production
Djagbawara Sali	199?	Cissé productions	Local cassette production
[title unknown]	199?	Samassa Records	Local cassette production