Toumani Diabaté
Mali's Toumani Diabaté has played his kora -- the 21-string harp/lute -- with Taj Mahal, Peter Gabriel, Spain's flamenco-fusion band Ketama, the 52-piece, Japanese/Malian Symmetric Orchestra, and countless jazz musicians who have sought him out in Bamako where he lives. The select fraternity of West African kora players embrace Toumani as a prodigy--the prince of the kora--but they also know he'll never be content to stay down on the farm.
Toumani comes from many generations – including his famed father Sidiki Diabaté -- of griots, traditional praise singers, historians, and musicians. He started playing at five, and at thirteen, he debuted solo in Mali's 1978 biannual music showcase, the proving ground for young traditional players. In 1984, Toumani toured Europe as part of an 18-piece troupe performing music from Mali's numerous ethnic groups.
Returning to Europe in 1986, he recorded his first two albums. Kaira, is Toumani's calling card, an unadorned set of traditional pieces displaying stunning kora technique and a highly personalized style. Toumani's friendly approach to kora melodies suggest an ear for Western and other music. His organic constructions recall the warmer piano improvisations of Keith Jarrett -- evolving through stages to rich emotional plateaus. Where other kora masters, especially from the Gambia, work in racing runs and quick, rhythmic shifts, Toumani delivers fluid, holistic mood pieces, always maintaining bass, accompaniment, and solo lines.
Toumani's second effort, the collaboration with Spanish nuevo flamenco group Ketama, Songhai, broke new ground by blending serene griot traditions with the fire of flamenco. Songhai received well-deserved critical acclaim, but it touched nerves back home, where traditionalists didn't appreciate his experimentation.
Toumani's elaborate 1992 project with The Symmetric Orchestra, Shake the Whole World (Released only in Japan and Mali) confirmed his reputation as a maverick, but by then, even purists recognized the young player's singular talent. In 1993, Toumani returned to Europe to record again. In London, he worked with a small group of Malian masters, including the Keletigui Diabaté, veteran of the wooden-slatted balafon, and Basekou Kouyate, a 24-year-old virtuoso of the banjo-like ngoni.
The group then proceeded to Madrid to record Songhai 2, which surpasses the original in maturity and depth. Toumani toured as part of Salif Keita's band in the 1998 Africa Fête, and later that year, he recorded a kora duo record with Ballake Sissoko. Their two fathers released the 1970s classic, Cordes Anciennes (Ancient Strings), so the new record is called New Ancient Strings.
The next year, Toumani collaborated with Taj Mahal and an all-West African band on the critically acclaimed Kulanjan, project, a ground breaking exploration of the links between American and Malian roots music. In 2002 he joined an all-star cast of Malian musicians to work with Damon Albarn, frontman for Britpop group Blur, on his Mali Music project. While in 2006 he shared a GRAMMY award with the great Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure for their haunting collaboration In the Heart of the Moon. It would be Ali Farka's last accolade before his death in March of 2006. – Banning Eyre, Courtesy Afropop Worldwide: www.afropop.org