Where is toumani diabate from

And he has every justification for that claim. Born in Bamako in , his music belongs to a tradition that stretches back years. Allegedly the 71st generation of kora players in his family, he was born into a caste of griots , the professional hereditary musicians with a lineage that can be traced back to the days when the Mande empire ruled West Africa. Traditionally the kora was used to accompany singers but Toumani has also dramatically expanded its scope and — while remaining true to its traditions — has effectively created a new musical language for the instrument.

Similarly, Toumani can play in an intellectually austere — although still overwhelmingly beautiful — traditional Mande style. The fact that Sidiki is also one of Mali's most successful hip-hop producers and artists gives a further twist to the story. Only Mali's leading marabouts — Muslim holy men — have such pulling power. My son has his way of playing the kora and I have mine.

I didn't impose anything on him. We just mixed our styles together. This record showcases some very old songs but with today's new technique of playing. It's the past meeting the present for the future. While some theorists like to claim that rap is a direct desendant of the West African griot tradition, relations between Malian rappers and griots have been strained, especially in recent years.

Some of the country's more "conscious" rappers have expressed frustration with the griot tendency to flatter those in power in their lyrics. Sidiki disagrees. He's all about peace, good messages, friendship, happiness. A griot that doesn't tell the truth isn't free, perhaps. Because of the crisis that struck Mali in and — a combination of a Touareg rebellion in the north, the jihadist takeover of two-thirds of the country and a military coup that scuppered what was once considered a model African democracy — truth-telling is at a premium in Mali.

Diabate continued to seek out new co-creators, recording the album MALIcool with American jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd for release on the Soundscape label in By that time Diabate was a well-established figure in Mali. Married and with children, he taught kora at the Mali Conservatory of Music. He estimated that he has given over 2, kora concerts since the mids. On the docket for Diabate in was a new kind of collaboration--not with an international musician but with Mali's other modern-day legend, guitarist Ali Farka Toure.

The two represented different traditions within Mali; Diabate came from the griot tradition in the south, whereas Toure was from Niafunke in the northern part of the country. But Toure had also experimented with the relationship between Malian music and the blues, and the two had long admired each other.

The pair toured Britain that year, and the album inspired speculation that Malian music might be ready for an international breakthrough on the order of that achieved by Cuban traditional music after the release of the Buena Vista Social Club film and album. The charismatic Diabate was ready to ride the trend, with new music from an ensemble he dubbed the Symmetric Orchestra slated for release in Self-taught player of the kora, a stringed West African instrument; toured with vocalist Kandia Kouyate, ; recorded debut album, Kaira, and toured U.

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