Jali Nyama Suso (circa 1925–1991) was a kora player from

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. He had a program on

Radio Gambia Radio Gambia is the national radio broadcaster of the West African state of the Gambia. Established in 1962, it became the first radio station in the Gambia. History Radio Gambia was the first media broadcaster of the Gambia following its esta ...

for 20 years. He released his first album in 1971 while he was teaching at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. In the 1980s he toured in

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France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He also worked on the soundtrack for ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

''. Long before any of that he had been known in his native country. He did not fully live the tradition of a wandering musicians because he lost his leg at age 16, but by the mid-1960s became popular on radio. He attained enough respect to do an arrangement for their national anthem. In 1991 he died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

after several years of illness.

References

Gambian Kora players University of Washington faculty Gambian amputees 20th-century Gambian people 1991 deaths 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis 1920s births Amputee musicians Tuberculosis deaths in the Gambia {{Africa-musician-stub