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Ballaké Sissoko
Ballaké Sissoko is the son of Djelimady Sissoko, a great master of the Manding Kora, a twenty-one-stringed harp whose crystalline sound has conquered the international public. Ballaké is one of the best Kora players of the new generation. He started learning the instrument at a very young age with his father. Having played with the prestigious Ensemble Instrumental du Mali and accompanied many female Malian singers, he earned his reputation by performing solo, in a duo with Toumani Diabate, with Taj Mahal, and with a number of other musicians, since 2009 with Vincent Segal on the album “Chamber Music” and the new one “Musique de Nuit” both released on No-Format label.
Open to all adventures and encounters Ballaké is an over-talented instrumentalist who, drawing on tradition for inspiration, has forged his own personal style. An inspired improviser and a subtle melodist, he is a marvellous accompanist and an excellent composer.
Emotion, elegance, freshness and inventiveness make up some of the world’s best music.
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A Few Of My Favorite 2023 Jazz Things (So Far) - Part 4
by Ludovico Granvassu
Africana to Americana, and beyond, in the final installment of our retrospective of some of the most memorable tunes we got to hear during the first half of the year.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Bill Laurance, Michael League “Round House" Where You Wish You Were (ACT) 0:16 Host talks 5:34 Artemis “Slink" In Real Time (Blue Note) 6:46 Ben van Gelder “Voice of Reason" Manifold (Dox) 13:48 ...
read moreOff Fest 2022, Skopje
by Ziga Koritnik
A collection of photos from the Off Festival in Skopje, North Macedonia from June 1, 2022 to June 4, 2022 featuring Perija, Ballaké Sissoko, Maria Mazzotta, Dobrila & Dorian Duo, Lucas Santtana, Los Pirañas, Nancy Vieira, Santrofi and many others. ...
read moreBallaké Sissoko at Sheung Wan Civic Centre Theatre
by Rob Garratt
Ballaké SissokoSheung Wan Civic Centre Theatre Le French May Arts FestivalHong Kong May 5, 2019 The kora must be one of the world's great improvisatory instruments, and Mali's Ballaké Sissoko is surely one of the instrument's most visible proponents. Somewhere between a harp and a double lute, the ingenious West African instrument can produce the most mesmerizing music, as its 21 strings chime with a warm, soothing glow. In Sissoko's ...
read moreBallaké Sissoko to Release 'At Peace' on Six Degrees Records
Source:
Press Junkie PR
In 2009, in the depths of the Malian night, kora player Ballaké Sissoko and cellist Vincent Segal recorded the stripped down dialogues that became the album Chamber Music. The record collected rave reviews and became an instant classic. It was rewarded with a “Victoire de la Musique” (a French Grammy award) and resulted in 200 concerts around the world. This kind of popular and critical success would have made the idea of Chamber Music Volume 2 very appealing - but ...
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Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Ségal: Cellos on the Niger, Koras on the Seine
Source:
rock paper scissors, inc.
Cellos on the Niger, Koras on the Seine: Chamber Music Discovers Unexpected Strains of African Lyricism and European Funk
When kora-player Ballaké Sissoko approached French cellist Vincent Ségal after a show, Ségal never suspected that he'd find himself several years later on the banks of the Niger, digging into African music's introspective side with a virtuosic Malian bard. He never imagined that the curious duo would discover striking similarities in their music and lives, creating a free space for cross-cultural ...
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