Toumani Diabaté
Encyclopedia
Toumani Diabaté is a Mali
an kora
player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali
, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco
, blues
, jazz
, and other international styles.
, who recorded the first ever kora album in 1970. His family's oral tradition tells of 71 generations of musicians preceding him in a patrilineal line. His cousin Sona Jobarteh is the first female kora player to come from a Griot family.
In 1987, Diabate made his first appearance on an album in the UK, on Ba Togoma, an album featuring his father's ensemble. In 1988 Diabaté released his first album in the West, a solo album entitled Kaira, recorded in one afternoon in London
and produced by Lucy Duran
.
In addition to performing Malian traditional music, Diabaté has also performed and recorded in cross-cultural settings. He has collaborated with flamenco
group Ketama
, forming a combined group known as Songhai
and releasing two recordings: Songhai I and Songhai II. In 2006, Diabaté collaborated with American blues
musician Taj Mahal
on the release Kulanjan
. "MALIcool" is a collaboration with American jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd
. He also collaborated with the Iceland
ic popular musician Björk
on her 2007 album Volta
.
In 1999 Diabaté released the album New Ancient Strings, a collaboration with Ballake Sissoko
and in September 2005, he released In the Heart of the Moon
, for which he collaborated with Ali Farka Touré
. The album went on to win the 2006 Grammy Award
for Best Traditional World Music Album. On July 25, 2006 he released his latest album Boulevard de l'Indépendance, recorded with his Symmetric Orchestra. In the Heart of the Moon and Boulevard de l'Indépendance, are both part of the Hotel Mandé Sessions, recorded by Nick Gold and released on World Circuit Records
. Both Boulevard and Hotel Mandé are references to landmarks in Mali's capital city, Bamako
.
The Symmetric Orchestra led by Toumani Diabaté is composed of musicians (mostly griots) from the across the old Mande Empire of west Africa
, who play a mix of traditional instruments including the kora, djembe
, balafon
and bolombatto
, as well as modern ones like the guitar
and electronic keyboard
.
Diabaté appeared in 2006 at the WOMAD Festival UK, Roskilde Festival
in Denmark
, and at the Sziget
Festival in Budapest
, Hungary
. In 2007 he performed at the Glastonbury Festival
and toured the U.S.A.. In 2008, he was at WOMADelaide
(in Adelaide, South Australia). In early 2008, Diabaté released his new album of solo Kora music, The Mande Variations
, to widespread critical acclaim. Many reviewers praised the album for its detailed recording of the Kora and careful mastering, in addition to the improvisational skills and wide range of apparent influences displayed on the album.
In October 2008 the Arabic language lyrics in Diabaté's song Tapha Niang (from Boulevard de l'Indépendance) were removed from the PlayStation 3
video game LittleBigPlanet
, after it elicited objections from a Muslim individual due to their inclusion of verses from the Qur’an. The publisher Sony Computer Entertainment Europe decided to delay the launch of the game by a week and recall most discs in order to replace the song with a lyric-free instrumental version. However, some copies of the original game had already been sold in the Middle East and United States.
Diabaté was chosen by Matt Groening
to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties
festival in May 2010 in Minehead
. Diabaté also performed at Hay Festival
in June. In July he performed at the Larmer Tree Festival
to huge acclaim.
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
an kora
Kora (instrument)
The kora is a 21-string bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa.-Description:A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge. It does not fit well into any one category of western instruments and would have to be...
player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali
Music of Mali
The Music of Mali is dominated by forms derived from the ancient Mande Empire. The Mande people make up most of the country's population, and their musicians, professional performers called jeliw , have produced a vibrant popular music scene alongside traditional folk music...
, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and other international styles.
Biography
Diabaté comes from a long family tradition of kora players including his father Sidiki DiabatéSidiki Diabaté
Sidiki Diabaté is a Malian Kora player known throughout West Africa as "the King of the Kora." He is regarded as one of the greatest kora players of all times and is the father of kora player Toumani Diabaté....
, who recorded the first ever kora album in 1970. His family's oral tradition tells of 71 generations of musicians preceding him in a patrilineal line. His cousin Sona Jobarteh is the first female kora player to come from a Griot family.
In 1987, Diabate made his first appearance on an album in the UK, on Ba Togoma, an album featuring his father's ensemble. In 1988 Diabaté released his first album in the West, a solo album entitled Kaira, recorded in one afternoon in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and produced by Lucy Duran
Lucy Duran
Lucy Durán is a ethnomusicologist, record producer and radio presenter. In the 1980s, Durán worked as a curator at the National Sound Archive. She is now a lecturer in African music, an undergraduate tutor and an undergraduate admissions tutor in the Department of Music School of Oriental and...
.
In addition to performing Malian traditional music, Diabaté has also performed and recorded in cross-cultural settings. He has collaborated with flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
group Ketama
Ketama
Ketama are a Spanish flamenco group in the fusion flamenco style. The leaders of what has been called New Flamenco, they brought a style that was somewhere between flamenco and pop salsa onto the musical scene that drew as much criticism as praise, but which has won over the young public and has...
, forming a combined group known as Songhai
Songhai (musical collaboration)
Songhai was a musical collaboration between the Spanish flamenco group Ketama, Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté, and English bass player Danny Thompson...
and releasing two recordings: Songhai I and Songhai II. In 2006, Diabaté collaborated with American blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
on the release Kulanjan
Kulanjan
-Track listing:# "Queen Bee"# "Tunkaranke"# "Ol' Georgie Buck"# "Kulanjan"# "Fanta"# "Guede Man Na"# "Catfish Blues"# "K'an Ben"# "Take This Hammer"# "Atlanta Kaira"# "Mississippi-Mali Blues"# "Sahara"...
. "MALIcool" is a collaboration with American jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd is a Grammy Award-nominated American jazz trombonist and composer....
. He also collaborated with the Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic popular musician Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
on her 2007 album Volta
Volta (album)
Volta is the seventh studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in May 2007. It was produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Timbaland and Danja. The music of Volta was a new style for Björk, focusing on similar sounding music combining African beats and other instruments with songs in tribute to Africa...
.
In 1999 Diabaté released the album New Ancient Strings, a collaboration with Ballake Sissoko
Ballaké Sissoko
Ballaké Sissoko is a noted player of the kora. He has worked with Toumani Diabaté and Taj Mahal and several others. He can be heard on Diario Mali. Ballaké's father, Djelimady Sissoko, was a notable musician in his own right.-Biography:...
and in September 2005, he released In the Heart of the Moon
In the Heart of the Moon
In the Heart of the Moon is a 2005 record by Malian musicians Ali Farka Touré on the guitar and providing vocals and Toumani Diabaté on the kora. The album was recorded in the "Toit de Bamako" conference room on the top floor of the Hotel Mandé overlooking the Niger River in Bamako, Mali...
, for which he collaborated with Ali Farka Touré
Ali Farka Touré
Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Touré was a Malian singer and guitarist, and one of the African continent’s most internationally renowned musicians. His music is widely regarded as representing a point of intersection of traditional Malian music and its North American cousin, the blues...
. The album went on to win the 2006 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Traditional World Music Album. On July 25, 2006 he released his latest album Boulevard de l'Indépendance, recorded with his Symmetric Orchestra. In the Heart of the Moon and Boulevard de l'Indépendance, are both part of the Hotel Mandé Sessions, recorded by Nick Gold and released on World Circuit Records
World Circuit (record label)
World Circuit is a world-music record label that specializes in Cuban and West African recording artists, among other international music stars. World Circuit celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006 by releasing World Circuit Presents..., a 2-disc retrospective compilation album...
. Both Boulevard and Hotel Mandé are references to landmarks in Mali's capital city, Bamako
Bamako
Bamako is the capital of Mali and its largest city with a population of 1.8 million . Currently, it is estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa and sixth fastest in the world...
.
The Symmetric Orchestra led by Toumani Diabaté is composed of musicians (mostly griots) from the across the old Mande Empire of west Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, who play a mix of traditional instruments including the kora, djembe
Djembe
A djembe also known as jembe, jenbe, djbobimbe, jymbe, yembe, or jimbay, or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin-covered drum meant played with bare hands....
, balafon
Balafon
The balafon is a resonated frame, wooden keyed percussion idiophone of West Africa; part of the idiophone family of tuned percussion instruments that includes the xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, and the vibraphone...
and bolombatto
Bolombatto
The bolombatto is a traditional stringed instrument that features in the music of West Africa. It consists of four strings, stretched over a gourd, which serves as a resonator. The strings each have a different thickness. The thickness of it determines how low the sound will be...
, as well as modern ones like the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and electronic keyboard
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
.
Diabaté appeared in 2006 at the WOMAD Festival UK, Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and at the Sziget
Sziget
The Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary is one of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe. It is held every August on the Northern Budapest Óbudai-sziget , a leafy island of 108 hectares on the Danube. Sziget stands for Island...
Festival in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. In 2007 he performed at the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
and toured the U.S.A.. In 2008, he was at WOMADelaide
WOMADelaide
WOMADelaide is an annual world music and dance festival, which was first held in 1992 in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia as part of the WOMAD series of music festivals. WOMAD events are a showcase of different sorts of music, arts and dance. They encourage people to experience the music of...
(in Adelaide, South Australia). In early 2008, Diabaté released his new album of solo Kora music, The Mande Variations
The Mandé Variations
The Mandé Variations is a studio album by Toumani Diabaté. Unlike many of his recordings which feature large ensembles, it consists of solo Kora throughout...
, to widespread critical acclaim. Many reviewers praised the album for its detailed recording of the Kora and careful mastering, in addition to the improvisational skills and wide range of apparent influences displayed on the album.
In October 2008 the Arabic language lyrics in Diabaté's song Tapha Niang (from Boulevard de l'Indépendance) were removed from the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
video game LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platformer video game, based on user-generated content, for the PlayStation 3 first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California...
, after it elicited objections from a Muslim individual due to their inclusion of verses from the Qur’an. The publisher Sony Computer Entertainment Europe decided to delay the launch of the game by a week and recall most discs in order to replace the song with a lyric-free instrumental version. However, some copies of the original game had already been sold in the Middle East and United States.
Diabaté was chosen by Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
festival in May 2010 in Minehead
Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park...
. Diabaté also performed at Hay Festival
Hay Festival
The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales for ten days from May to June. Devised by Norman and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was described by Bill Clinton in 2001 as "The Woodstock of the mind"...
in June. In July he performed at the Larmer Tree Festival
Larmer Tree Festival
The Larmer Tree Festival is a five-day music and arts festival held annually at the Larmer Tree Gardens near Tollard Royal on the Wiltshire-Dorset border in England. Described as "One of the most family-friendly festivals around", it is also noted for its "stunning location .....
to huge acclaim.
Discography
- 1987 - "Ba Togoma" (with Sidiki DiabatéSidiki DiabatéSidiki Diabaté is a Malian Kora player known throughout West Africa as "the King of the Kora." He is regarded as one of the greatest kora players of all times and is the father of kora player Toumani Diabaté....
, Mariama Kouyaté, Djeli Mady Sissoko, Kandia Kouayté) - 1988 - Kaira
- 1988 - Songhai (with KetamaKetamaKetama are a Spanish flamenco group in the fusion flamenco style. The leaders of what has been called New Flamenco, they brought a style that was somewhere between flamenco and pop salsa onto the musical scene that drew as much criticism as praise, but which has won over the young public and has...
and Danny ThompsonDanny ThompsonDaniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
) - 1994 - Songhai 2 (with KetamaKetamaKetama are a Spanish flamenco group in the fusion flamenco style. The leaders of what has been called New Flamenco, they brought a style that was somewhere between flamenco and pop salsa onto the musical scene that drew as much criticism as praise, but which has won over the young public and has...
and Danny ThompsonDanny ThompsonDaniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
) - 1995 - Djelika
- 1999 - New Ancient Strings (with Ballake SissokoBallaké SissokoBallaké Sissoko is a noted player of the kora. He has worked with Toumani Diabaté and Taj Mahal and several others. He can be heard on Diario Mali. Ballaké's father, Djelimady Sissoko, was a notable musician in his own right.-Biography:...
) - 1999 - KulanjanKulanjan-Track listing:# "Queen Bee"# "Tunkaranke"# "Ol' Georgie Buck"# "Kulanjan"# "Fanta"# "Guede Man Na"# "Catfish Blues"# "K'an Ben"# "Take This Hammer"# "Atlanta Kaira"# "Mississippi-Mali Blues"# "Sahara"...
(with Taj MahalTaj Mahal (musician)Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
) - 2001 - Jarabi: the Best of Toumani Diabate
- 2002 - Malicool (with Roswell RuddRoswell RuddRoswell Rudd is a Grammy Award-nominated American jazz trombonist and composer....
) - 2005 - In the Heart of the MoonIn the Heart of the MoonIn the Heart of the Moon is a 2005 record by Malian musicians Ali Farka Touré on the guitar and providing vocals and Toumani Diabaté on the kora. The album was recorded in the "Toit de Bamako" conference room on the top floor of the Hotel Mandé overlooking the Niger River in Bamako, Mali...
(with Ali Farka TouréAli Farka TouréAli Ibrahim “Farka” Touré was a Malian singer and guitarist, and one of the African continent’s most internationally renowned musicians. His music is widely regarded as representing a point of intersection of traditional Malian music and its North American cousin, the blues...
) - 2006 - Boulevard de l'Indépendance
- 2008 - The Mandé VariationsThe Mandé VariationsThe Mandé Variations is a studio album by Toumani Diabaté. Unlike many of his recordings which feature large ensembles, it consists of solo Kora throughout...
- 2010 - Ali and Toumani - (World Circuit/Nonesuch Records) (with Ali Farka TouréAli Farka TouréAli Ibrahim “Farka” Touré was a Malian singer and guitarist, and one of the African continent’s most internationally renowned musicians. His music is widely regarded as representing a point of intersection of traditional Malian music and its North American cousin, the blues...
)
Filmography
- Bamako Is a Miracle by Maurice Engler, Arnaud Robert and Samuel Chalard (Afro Blue, Geneva 2003).
- Toumani Diabaté - Koraklänge aus dem Land der Flusspferde by Martina Pfaff (WDR, Cologne 2007).
External links
- Toumani Diabaté official website
- Toumani Diabaté on the label website (worldcircuit.co.uk)
- Official Toumani Diabaté biography
- Afropop Worldwide Slideshow of Toumani Diabate Performing Live in Brooklyn (July 2007)
- The Kora Star (August 2007)
- 'Our music is older than Bach' - Interview in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
(October 2008) - Info on the kora & Toumani Diabaté
- Toumoani Diabante review in The New Current
- Making of Boulevard de L'Indépendance short documentary
- Making of In the Heart of the Moon short documentary
- Ali and Toumani Review and interview with Tounami Diabaté| Folk Radio UK