Solo Cissokho (1963 – May 4, 2019) was a Norwegian/

Senegalese Demographic features of the population of Senegal include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. About 42% of Senegal's population i ...

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

Mbalax Mbalax (or mbalakh) is the urban dance music of Senegal, Mauritania and the Gambia. The musical style is rooted in the indigenous instrumental and vocal styles accompanied by polyrhythmic sabar drumming of the Wolof, a social identity that incl ...

musician known for playing the Kora. Born into a

griot A griot (; ; Manding languages, Manding: or (in N'Ko script, N'Ko: , or in French spelling); also spelt Djali; or / ; ) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. Griots are masters of communicatin ...

family in

Ziguinchor Ziguinchor (; ; ) is the capital of the Ziguinchor Region, and the chief town of the Casamance area of Senegal, lying at the mouth of the Casamance River. It has a population of 214,874 (2023 census). It is the eighth largest city of Senegal ...

Casamance Casamance is the area of Senegal south of the Gambia, including the Casamance River. It consists of the Lower Casamance (, —i.e. Ziguinchor Region) and the Upper Casamance (, —i.e. Kolda and Sédhiou Regions). The largest city of Casamance ...

, Solo continued the family tradition of Kora playing at a young age.

Biography

Solo Cissokho, born Solo Cissokho in 1963, hailed from a family of musicians, including Kausu Kouyate and

Seckou Keita Seckou Keita (born 14 February 1978) is a Kora (instrument), kora player and drummer from Senegal. He is one of the few champions of the lesser-known kora repertoire from Casamance in southern Senegal. Musical career Keita was born in Ziguinc ...

. In his early years, he learned to play the Kora, mastering additional instruments like

Djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

, Guitar, and Bass. His musical journey led him to France and England before settling in Norway in 1995. In 1996, Cissokho recorded the album '' Frå Senegal til Setesdal'' with Kouame Sereba, Kirsten Bråten Berg, and Bjørgulv Straume. A significant turning point occurred in 1998 when an impromptu collaborative session with

Swedish folk music Swedish folk music is a genre of music based largely on folkloric collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden. The primary instrument of Swedish folk music is the fiddle. Another common instrument, unique to Swedish traditio ...

ian Ellika Frisell resulted in the album ''Tretakt Takissaba,'' winning the BBC World Music Award for Boundary Crossing. He formed 'Jalikunda Cissokho' which included members from the Cissokho family. They toured across the UK, and performed at notable events and festivals such as

Womad WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

and the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

and released an album. Cissokho contributed to various musical projects and albums and has collaborated with artists like Ellika Frisell,

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...

and

Ali Farka Touré Ali Ibrahim "Ali Farka" Touré (31 October 1939 – 6 March 2006) was a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent's most internationally renowned musicians. His music blends traditional Malian music and its deriv ...

, showcasing his versatility in genres ranging from world music to Jazz.

Discography

Albums

*''Alal'' (1998) * ''Tretakt Takissaba'' with Ellika Frisell (2002) * ''Abaraká! Tack! – with Ellika Frisell (2005) * ''Now'' with Ellika Frisell and Rafael Sida (2013) * ''Contrebande'' with Den Fule (2013) * ''Solo & Indrė'' with Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė (2015)

Collaborative works

* '' Frå Senegal til Setesdal'' with Miki N'Doye Orchestra – (1997) * ''Joko (2002)'' with Miki N'Doye Orchestra (2002) * ''Combonations'' (2002) * ''Lindiane'' with Jalikunda Cissokho – (2002) * ''Sangen Om Yebo'' with Geirr Lystrup – (2002) * ''Awards For World Music'' (2003) * ''Fulanimesse'' with Mannskoret Herrer and Terje Baugerød – (2005) * ''Dunya'' with ComboNations (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cissokho, Solo 1963 births 2019 deaths Senegalese jazz musicians Norwegian jazz musicians Kora players Senegalese world music musicians Norwegian people of Senegalese descent People from Ziguinchor region