Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni ba November 12, 2011

“Ancient and utterly contemporary…like some African answer to Hendrix.” -The Guardian

2011 Grammy-nominated Bassekou Kouyate is a virtuoso picker and musical visionary whose work blurs the lines between West African and American roots music. Bassekou has jammed with Bonnie Raitt and Bono, and won praise from Eric Clapton. He’s also dug into blues and country music with Taj Mahal and created freewheeling improvisations with banjo maverick Bela Fleck. Bassekou’s instrument, the ngoni, is a “spike lute” and an ancestor of the banjo, sharing its taut-skinned drum body, percussive attack, and varied picking techniques. Since 2005, Bassekou has led Ngoni Ba, the first-ever group built around not one but four ngonis—all played by members of his family. The group’s second CD I Speak Fula was the first recording to be released (February 2010) on Sub Pop Records new world music imprint Next Ambiance.

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