Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba

2:30-4:30pm



Website:
www.rocklandstrand.com/detail.html?id=58…

Name:
Donna Daly

Phone:
(207) 594-0070

Malian sensation Bassekou Kouyate and his band Ngoni Ba will be touring North America to promote the release of their second album, I Speak Fula. Since 2005, Bassekou has led Ngoni Ba, the first-ever group built around not one but four ngonis (an ancient traditional lute found throughout West Africa), all played by members of his family. The music that Bassekou Kouyate and his three ngoni accompanists coax from this simple instrument is extraordinary--intricately woven lines, crisp bluesy riffs and funky ostinato patterns, along with wild rocking solos. Add the lilting griot melodies from Ami Sacko, Bassekou's wife, and the driving West African rhythms of a percussionist, and you've got one of the hottest new bands from Mali.