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Ngoni Ba

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ngoni Ba is a group from Mali, led by the ngoni player Bassekou Kouyaté. The name refers to the instrument at its centre: the ngoni, a traditional West African stringed instrument with a wooden or calabash body over which a dried animal skin is stretched. The instrument has been known since at least 1352, when the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta saw one at the court of Mansa Musa. It is regarded as related to the akonting and the xalam and as a forerunner of the banjo in North America.

Music and breakthrough

The group released five albums: Segu Blue in 2006, I Speak Fula in 2009, Jama Ko in 2013, Ba Power in 2015 and Miri in 2019. On those records the ngoni is not accompaniment but the lead instrument. Griots traditionally played the ngoni at celebrations and special occasions, and the fast melodic lines that the instrument can produce are given room in Ngoni Ba, with the rhythmic power of a band behind them.

Influence

The group shows how an old Malian tradition can live in a contemporary band format. In this way it fits in the line of West African music that connects blues lovers and world music fans, and that shows how closely related the stringed instruments of Mali and the banjo are.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a track from Segu Blue and notice the ngoni: how fast and melodic can this instrument play, and what do the other instruments around it do? See whether you can hear the old griot tradition in the playing style.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists