Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique: Toumani Diabaté

Frank Bessem's
Musiques d'Afrique:

Toumani Diabaté
(Mali)

Musiques d'Afrique
Musiques du Mali

Toumani Diabate is an extremely talented kora player of the younger generation. At age of 21, he recorded a much acclaimed album Kaira, where he mixed the sound of this ancient 21 string instrument with nowadays textures, without any other instrument or studio mixing nor dubbing, just himself, the instrument and the microphone... But then again, his talent wasn't a surprise, since his father, the late Sidiki Diabate, has been known as le roi de la kora. Subsequently, Toumani was called le prince de la kora.
In the early 1990s, he participated in the Songhai project, a collaboration with the Flamenco group Ketama, which resulted in two albums, Songhai, and Songhai 2.
His album New Ancient Strings (nouvelles cordes anciennes) is a re-interpretation of the album cordes anciennes, recorded in 1970 by Sidiki Diabate (Toumani's father) and Djelimadi Sissoko (Ballake Sissoko's father). The music of that historic album is still played on national radio on important national holidays, such as Independence Day.
This is great music to dream away and for meditation!

Musicians on New ancient strings: Djelimoussa dit Ballake Sissoko (kora);
Musicians on Djelika: Bassekou Kouyaté (ngoni), Keletigui Diabate (bala).

Born: 1965, in Bamako, Mali.
Style: instrumental kora music.

Discography:

Title	Year	Label	Remarks
King of the Kora: An Introduction	2009	Nascente NSDCD006	Compilation album (1987-99)
The Mandé Variations	2008	World Circuit WCD 079	Solo kora album
Boulevard de l'independance	2006	World Circuit WCD 074	With his Symmetric Orchestra
In the Heart of the Moon	2005	World Circuit WCD 072	Recording session with Ali Farka Toure
Malicool	2003	Sunnyside Records	With Roswell Rudd
Jarabi: The Best of Toumani Diabaté	2002	Hannibal HNCD 1462
Kulanjan	1999	Hannibal HNCD 1444	With Taj Mahal
New Ancient Strings	1999	Hannibal HNCD 1428 (Rykodisc)	With Ballake Sissoko
Djelika	1995	Hannibal HNCD 1380	Solo kora album
Kaira	1987	Hannibal HNCD 1338
Albums jointly made with Spanish flamenco group Ketama:
Songhai 2	1994	Hannibal HNCD 1383	With Ketama, Danny Thompson and José Soto
Songhai	1988	Hannibal HNCD 1323	With Ketama, Danny Thompson and José Soto