Bassekou Kouyate (born 1966) is a musician from

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. His band is known as Ngoni ba.

Life and career

He was born into the Kouyate family in Garana, Barouéli Cercle, 60 kilometres from Ségou, in 1966.Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique: At the age of 12, he started playing the ngoni. In the late 1980s he moved to the capital,

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

.Fly Global Music, March 10, 2007
Bassekou Kouyaté – Blue Like a River to a Desert
Kouyate's debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''Segu Blue'', was released internationally in 2007 by Outhere Records and distributed in the U.K. by Proper Music Distribution. The album was produced by Lucy Durán. He has also appeared on a number of albums by Toumani Diabaté and has performed in several European countries. In 2010, Kouyaté toured with Béla Fleck. Kouyate's wife, Amy Sacko, is also a successful solo artist and sings lead in his band. His father, Mustapha Kouyate, was a ngoni player and his mother Yagaré Damba was a praise singer. Kouyate, together with Amy Sacko and Ngoni ba, appeared at The 2013 Proms.

Discography

Albums

* Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba: ''Segu Blue'' (Outhere Records, 2007) * Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba: ''I Speak Fula'' (Outhere Records, 2009) * Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba: '' Jama Ko'' (Outhere Records, 2013) * Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba: ''Ba Power'' (Glitterbeat Records, 2015) * Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba: ''Miri'' (Outhere Records, 2019) * Bassekou Kouyate & Amy Sacko: ''Djudjon'' (One World Records, 2024)

Contributing artist

* '' The Rough Guide to Desert Blues'' ( World Music Network, 2010)

Filmography

* 2008: ''Throw Down Your Heart'', by Sascha Paladino: Himself * 2013: ''The Africa Express'', by Renaud Barret and Florent de La Tullaye: Himself * 2016: ''Easy Man'', by Jasper Cremers and Dennis de Groot: Himself * 2016: '' Mali Blues'', by Lutz Gregor: Himself

Awards

*2008 – BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music – Album of the Year & African Artist of the YearBBC3 Awards for World Music winners 2008
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References

External links

*
Outhere Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kouyate, Bassekou 1966 births Living people Malian musicians Ngoni players People from Ségou Region 21st-century Malian people