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Kane Mathis
Performing on the 21-string Mandinka Kora and the Turkish Oud, Kane Mathis renders compelling interpretations that bridge West African tradition, Middle Eastern classical music, and jazz improvisation. His approach is simultaneously rigorous and adventurous, deeply rooted in authentic technique while reaching into new harmonic territory.
Kane began traveling to The Gambia, West Africa in 1997 and has continued rigorous study of the Mandinka Kora under Malamini Jobarteh of Brikama and Moriba Kouyate, among The Gambia’s most important musical exponents. His dedication earned recognition from the Gambian President and Minister of Culture, and both national television and radio of The Gambia.
Oud study began in Istanbul in 1998 with Mutlu Torun and continued through five and a half years with master Münir Nurettin Beken.
As a composer, Kane generates new works for both instruments alongside experimental electronic fixed media for film and modern dance. The Kane Mathis Trio performs an intimate, kinetic set that takes listeners from the ancient courts of the Mande Empire to the jazz rooms of New York City.
Awards
- First American Oud player invited to the prestigious Katara Oud Festival
- Gold Medal Winner 2026 Global Music Awards
- 2026 Intercontinental Music Awards Winner
- Chamber Music America Award Recipient
- Earshot Jazz — Album of the Year
- Honored by the President of The Gambia for Kora Performance
- Honored by the Gambian Minister of Culture for Kora Performance
- Featured on Gambian National Television & Radio
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Kane Mathis: Kora Meets Jazz
by AAJ Staff
Seattle's Kane Mathis is one of the world's leading performers on the kora, the distinctive (usually) 21-stringed West African harp instrument that is the major instrument of the Mandinka people of Mali; the Malian equivalent of the Western keyboard. Mathis has studied the instrument since the age of twenty, making several trips to The Gambia to learn from the hereditary musicians of the area. Now, he is the kora instrumentalist in Seattle's The Kora Band, a five piece jazz group ...
Continue Reading...Kora and Oud Explorer Kane Mathis Interviewed at All About Jazz
Source:
John Kelman
Seattle's Kane Mathis is one of the world's leading performers on the kora, the distinctive (usually) 21-stringed West African harp instrument that is the major instrument of the Mandinka people of Mali; the Malian equivalent of the Western keyboard. Mathis has studied the instrument since the age of twenty, making several trips to The Gambia to learn from the hereditary musicians of the area. Now, he is the kora instrumentalist in Seattle's The Kora Band, a five piece jazz group ...
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Kane Mathis has developed a remarkable mastery of Mande music. Whether playing solo kora or with his tight, trio of balafon, kora and djembe drum, he is a pleasure to hear. It is not only that Mathis is comfortable and well versed in the Mande repertoire; it's that when he plays, he swings in exactly the right way, probably the hardest thing for an outsider to grasp in this rich, West African tradition. Kora music features improvisation, but like writing poetry in a foreign language, you have to follow the rules. Mathis manages this, with phrasing, accents, tone and riffs-even the fast ones-that feel just right
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Music
Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson
