Jazz Articles

Kissima Diabate: Beug Fallou

by Henry Smith
August 23, 2010

A Senegalese-born drummer, Kissima Diabate has been playing nearly all his life. Born into a griot family, the percussionist's impressive résumé found him becoming a djembe soloist in the Ballet D'Afrique Noir at age twelve and, only four years later, a solo drummer and dancer for the Ballet National Du Senegal. Yet Diabate's renown in his own country stands in stark contrast to his fame elsewhere in the world. Despite recently teaching and organizing concerts in Europe and the United ...