Confederation House is proud to host at the Oud Festival this debut performance in Israel by one of the great musicians of Africa, Bassekou Kouyate from Mali and his band, the Ngoni-Ba. The band enriches the traditional musical heritage of West Africa, as well as the musical language of the ngoni, a stringed instrument that is an ancestor of the western banjo. Kouyate is a virtuoso musician. He added strings to the ngoni and connected it to electricity and various effects; his playing corresponds with elements of jazz, blues and rock. Another musician in the band plays the bass ngoni, its large version, and two others play the desert drum, yabara, and calabash. Kouyate’s wife, Aminata Sacko (dubbed “Mali’s Tina Turner”), is lead vocalist in the band. Kouyate has performed alongside great musicians: Mali guitarist Ali Farka Touré, Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal, Bono and Bonnie Raitt. His work and albums have changed attitudes toward this ancient instrument, the ngoni, in the 21st century.
Bassekou Kouyate, lead ngoni; Aminata Sackou Kouyate, lead vocals; Moctar Kouyate, drums, percussion; Mahamadu Tounkara, percussion, talking drum; Mamadou Kouyate, bass ngoni
Photo: Thomas Dorn