Bassekou Kouyaté’s band is Ngoni Ba, which translates roughly as “The Big Ngoni,” a pretty terrific description of what Kouyaté’s selling, if you know what an “ngoni” is. “Lute” is the usual ...

Bassekou Kouyate is a virtuoso of the African lute called the ngoni. His groundbreaking technique has made him a legend at age 44 in his native Mali. These days, Kouyate fronts the group Ngoni Ba, ...

From his early days in Bamako when he was playing in a trio together with Toumani Diabate and Keletigui Diabate till today where he is pursuing his own career, Bassekou has transformed the traditional ...

As a boy in Mali, Balla Kouyaté remembers playing the balafon to motivate workers on a farm. He was so small, he had to stand on a large rock to be seen by the crowd. An opportunity like that would ...

From the moment he picked up the ngoni (a stringed lute popular in Mali) at age 12, Bassekou Kouyate was destined for greatness. Originally from Garana, he moved to the capital Bamako in the late ...

Andra Kouyate has invented, designed and built a new instrument; the bass ngoni, sort of an African contrabass. This invention has permitted him to develop a new way of playing, quite different from ...

Sory Kandia Kouyaté was one of the most celebrated singers in West Africa when he died suddenly in 1977. He was just 44, and given his spectacular voice, it's a safe bet that Kouyaté would have been ...