Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba (Mali)

Their brilliance on the ngoni sounds like a dream, literally.

Bassekou Kouyaté is a master of the traditional West African lute, the ngoni. He’s also a star. His latest tour with his band Ngoni Ba was a major hit, and to our delight they will perform at this year’s Music Meeting.

Kouyaté was born in a small village along the banks of the Niger, and has been playing as a musician since the eighties. Throughout the years he’s played with some of the greatest artists in different genres. He accompanied Mali-superstar Ali Farka Touré on his last tour in 2005 (the same year Kouyaté founded Ngoni Ba). But he also shared stages with the likes of Damon Albarn (Blur), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Bono, and Sir Paul McCartney.

The group’s newest album, “Miri” (Bambara for “dream”), is an ode to love, family, and friendship. The instrumental titular song flows like a river: rhythmic, calm, but also thrusting and unrelenting. No wonder it represents Kouyaté returning to his native village and sitting by the Niger, away from the city’s hustle and bustle.

Formation

Ngoni Ba
Bassekou Kouyaté - Ngoni, vocals
Amy Sacko - Vocals
Mamadou Kouyaté - Bass ngoni, vocals
Mahamadou Tounkara - Yabara, tama, singing
Moctar Kouyaté – Calabash, vocals