BASSEKOU KOUYATE

He is "a genius and living proof that the blues comes from Mali," says Taj Mahal about his colleague Bassekou Kouyate. The link to the blues lies in the ancient instrument Ngoni itself a traditional West African long-necked spear lute, widely regarded as the African ancestor of the banjo.

The undisputed master of the Ngoni has made the instrument a household name. It is the combination of his virtuos style of playing and the numerous innovations he has added to the ancient instrument by adding more strings and introducing effects devices such as a wah wah pedal.

His breakthrough came with the Symmetric Orchestra an allstar quartet formed with Toumani Diabate and Keletigui Diabate. He was then handpicked by the late Ali Farka Toure to play lead Ngoni on his famous last album ‘Savane’. For Ali Farka Toure Bassekou was “a raw diamond” in Malis music scene.

2007 Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba broke into the international musicmarket with his own group, the Ngoni quartet ‘Ngoni Ba’. It is the first band made up of four Ngonis, introducing the first Ngoni bass.

Their debut album ‘Segu Blue’ owned them numerous BBC awards and is the starting point of his international career that has taken him around the world. With his virtuosity he creates soundscapes that lie somewhere between blues, jazz, rock and traditional Malian music. He has worked with musicians such as Damon Albarn, Youssou Ndour, Michael League (Snarky Puppy) and Taj Mahal, among others, and was a long-time accompanist of Ali Farka Toure. For over 20 years he has toured internationally at renowned festivals (e.g. Glastonbury, New Orleans Jazz Festival, Fuji Rock Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival), in concert halls such as the Elbphilharmonie and in numerous clubs. Every concert is an experience and remains in the best memory of most visitors. Today Bassekou performs with different lineups. If he is not on tour with Ngoni Ba, he performs intimate duo concerts with his wife, the famous Malian singer Amy Sacko, represents Mali at official state celebrations or experiments in a minimalistic Quartet format backed only by vocals, an electric bass and a drum kit.

Fotos: Peter Hundert, Thomas Dorn