Bassekou Kouyate & Amy Sacko

Malian griot music for ngoni and voice, between blues, jazz, and tradition.

Bassekou Kouyate is considered the foremost player of the ngoni, the West African lute with a long neck. He made the instrument internationally known by adding extra strings and running it through effect pedals. This creates a sound world that moves between blues, jazz, rock, and traditional Malian music. Blues musician Taj Mahal, with whom he collaborated, calls him the living proof that the blues comes from Mali.

In the griot program Folo Djelia, Kouyate returns to the music of his parents and gives it his own interpretation. He plays it together with singer Amy Sacko, his wife. Only ngoni and voice, a repertoire that bridges generations and a concert with the character of chamber music.

'Ngoni virtuoso Bassekou Kouyate can make notes bend like light rays in the desert heat' (Time Out).

Amy Sacko vocals, Bassekou Kouyate ngoni