Bassekou Kouyate is a musician from Mali who performs with his band Ngoni ba, also known as Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni ba. He is born in Garana, in Barouéli Cercle, about 60 kilometres from Ségou, and starts playing the ngoni at the age of 12. In the late 1980s he moves to Bamako, the Malian capital.

Career

Kouyaté’s debut album, Segu Blue, is released internationally in 2007 on Out Here Records and is distributed in the United Kingdom by Proper Music Distribution. Lucy Durán produces the album. He appears on several albums by Toumani Diabaté and performs in a number of European countries. In 2010, he tours with Béla Fleck.

Family and band

His wife, Amy Sacko, is also a solo artist and sings lead in his band. His father, Mustapha Kouyaté, is a ngoni player, and his mother, Yagaré Damba, is a praise singer.