Featuring the "golden voice" of Salif Keita along with influential guitarists Kante Manfila and Ousmane Kouyate, bala player Keletigui Diabate, and Cheikh Tidane Seck on keyboards, Les Ambassadeurs were a legendary West African band in the 1970s and '80s, originating in Mali. With their diverse influences in traditional Manding songs, African pop, Cuban jazz, soul and rock, Les Ambassadeurs helped establish some of the brightest future talents of the Malian music scene. When political unrest forced them to leave Mali, the band later changed their name to Les Ambassadeurs Internationales.