Toumani Diabaté

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Toumani Diabaté in Toronto, 2007

Toumani Diabaté (born August 10, 1965 ) is a Malian kora player who gained international acclaim with his music. He is considered by many to be the best kora player in the world. He is a versatile artist who excels in many ways both with the traditional music of Mali and in areas bordering on flamenco , blues , jazz and other international styles.

Life

Toumani Diabaté comes from an ancient griot family who, according to him, can be traced back 70 generations, and learned to play the kora from his father Sidiki Diabaté , who was to date the most important kora player in his country and who was the first to record a kora album in 1970.

The musician, who is deeply rooted in tradition and at the same time very cosmopolitan, who counts James Brown as one of his most important role models and who acknowledges his teenage preference for the German band Scorpions , has often worked with musicians outside the West African sphere.

With the Spanish progressive flamenco band Ketama he recorded two albums: Songhai and Songhai 2 . With the American blues musician Taj Mahal , who also calls himself Dadi Kouyateh, to document his presumed origin in this West African griot family, he recorded the album Kulanjan in 1999 . The 2003 album MALIcool resulted from an unusual but successful collaboration with the American jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd , who is originally at home in free jazz .

With the rock musician Damon Albarn ( Blur , Gorillaz ) he recorded an album called Mali Music (released by Albarn allegedly without Diabaté's permission). In 2007 there was a collaboration with the Icelandic singer Björk , the result of which was released in May 2007 under the title Hope on the album " Volta ".

Diabaté became famous with the first unaccompanied kora solo album, Kaira , which he recorded in 1987 in a single afternoon in London and which established his position as an outstanding player of his instrument. With his uncle Kélétigui Diabaté at the balaphon and other musicians, the album Djelika was created in 1995 , a finely woven chamber music work with many traditional pieces from the Griot repertoire. In 1999 New Ancient Strings followed with Ballaké Sissoko , in 2005 In the Heart of the Moon with the late great Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré .

This was followed in 2006 by the heavily orchestrated album Boulevard de l'Indépendance with his Symmetric Orchestra, with which Diabaté has performed on Fridays at the Hotel Mandé in Bamako for years . During the recordings, the orchestra was expanded to include a wind section under the direction of Pee Wee Ellis , the saxophonist of his idol James Brown, and an American string section.

On his second CD for kora solo, "The Mande Variations" (2008), Diabaté plays a traditional kora inherited from his father, as well as a slightly modernized instrument with pegs for pitch adjustment (instead of the traditional leather straps).

Toumani Diabaté, who has added a 22nd string to his kora, is now making guest appearances at festivals all over the world (including in Roskilde 2006 and at the MusikTriennale Cologne in May 2007).

Awards

Documentaries about Toumani Diabaté

Discography

  • Kaira, 1987 (published 1989)
  • Songhai (with Ketama and Danny Thompson ), 1989
  • Shake The World, 1991
  • Songhai 2 (with Ketama, José Soto and Danny Thompson), 1994
  • Djelika, 1995
  • New Ancient Strings (with Ballaké Sissoko ), 1999
  • Kulanjan, 1999
  • Malicool, 2001
  • Mali Music, 2002
  • Jarabi (a best of album) 2005
  • In the Heart of the Moon (with Ali Farka Touré ; as guest among others Ry Cooder ), 2005 (Grammy Award 2006)
  • Boulevard de l'Indépendance, 2006
  • The Mande Variations, 2008
  • Ali and Toumani (recordings from 2005/06 with Ali Farka Touré († 2006)), 2010
  • Toumani & Sidiki, 2014 (together with his son Sidiki Diabaté)
  • Lamomali, 2017 (with M & Sidiki Diabaté)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Diabaté, Toumani
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Malian kora player
DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1965