Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba is a Malian group led by Bassekou Kouyate, one of Mali’s best-known ngoni players. Kouyate is from Garana, a village about 60 kilometres from Ségou on the banks of the Niger river, and grows up in a traditional musical family: his mother is a praise singer, and his father and brothers are also ngoni players. He moves to Bamako at the age of 19, where he meets Toumani Diabaté.

By the late 1980s, Kouyate is part of Diabaté’s trio and records with him on Songhai and Djelika. He also collaborates with a wide range of Malian and international musicians, including Carlos Santana, U2 and Ali Farka Touré. He features on Touré’s posthumous album Savane and tours with him as the band’s solo ngoni player.

Ngoni ba and recordings

Kouyate marries the singer Ami Sacko, and the pair are in demand for traditional Sunday wedding parties in Bamako. He later forms his own band, Ngoni ba, described as Mali’s first ngoni quartet. The group records its debut album Segu Blue for the Munich-based label Out Here Records, and later releases I Speak Fula on Sub Pop’s Next Ambiance imprint.

Taj Mahal describes Kouyate as a genius and links his music to the Ségou region, reflecting Kouyate’s reputation as a leading figure in Malian ngoni music.