2 languages
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba · Bassekou Kouyate was born in 1966 in Garana, near Ségou in Mali, into the Kouyate family. His father Mustapha Kouyate played the ngoni and his mother Yagaré Damba was a praise singer. At twelve he began playing the ngoni himself, the Malian stringed lute that ends in a small wooden calabash. At the end of the 1980s he moved to the capital, Bamako. His band is called Ngoni ba.
Music and breakthrough
His debut album Segu Blue was released internationally in 2007 on Outhere Records, produced by Lucy Durán. He also played on a number of albums by Toumani Diabaté and performed in various European countries. In 2010 he toured with Béla Fleck. His wife Amy Sacko is a solo artist and sings the lead vocals in the band. Together with her and Ngoni ba he played at the Proms in 2013.
Influence
The music of Ngoni ba builds on the ngoni in several sizes, from high solo ngoni to bass ngoni, with a rhythm that keeps repeating and varying. It is music from a griot tradition, in which families such as the Kouyates have passed on praise songs and stories for centuries. Kouyate shows that the ngoni, a forerunner of the banjo, can also work as a lead instrument in a full band.
Listening
Ngoni fola · Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba, 2006