Born in Mali 36 years ago, he is the descendent of a great dynasty, the "Griots", itinerant figures who carry and transmit local knowledge, tradition, history and culture. He began his career playing the tamani (a talking drum), accompanying his grandfather during his Griot travels. Later he entered the Mali Instrumental Assembly as tamani and ngoni player. During this period the Assembly undertook several European and American tours. There have also been European tours with Kanja Kuiate and Ami Koita; with this latter he cut four discs. In 1991 he founded the group Taman Kan and they went on an African tour together. In 1993 he founded the group Bamada with Habib Koite and together they won the competition organised by Radio France International, "Découverte 93". He cut two discs with the formation Koite and undertook a tour with them that took him all over the world. From 1995 he has received regular invitations to hold courses of Djembe, Balafon, Tamani, Ngoni and other traditional Mali instruments. At the same time he cut his first CD with Taman Kan, and thus he alternates a solo career with his percussionist activity. His knowledge of a variety of instruments and his extreme sensitivity for other forms of musical expression, not strictly connected to the African environment, soon led him to work with true superstars like Sting, Santana, The Wailers, Youssou N'Dour, Salif Keita and many others. He has now been in Italy since 1999, where he cut his second CD, "Djana". In Italy he has taken part in several "RadioRai" programmes, he works as a consultant for the University of Calabria and the Istituto V. Bellini in Catania. In August of the same year his name appeared on the billboard of the prestigious Taormina Festival, where for the first time Baba Sissoko proposed a concert of ethnic music. Baba Sissoko came to Italy accompanied by his group, the "Taman Kan". He has a very special style, melting western sounds like jazz, rock and blues into the melodies and rhythms of Bambara, Peul, Mandinga and Sonrai, which come from the roots of his history. The ensuing musical contamination is of extraordinary effect. All this is thanks to innumerable collaborations with artists from completely different cultural and musical contexts. Nor should we forget the contribution made by Amandrai to his compositions. Amandrai is a repetitive and hypnotic musical structure from Mali. According to some historians and scholars, after crossing the oceans with the tragic slave emigration, it spawned the Blues, with which it does share some assonance. All of this translates into a musical product that makes for extremely good listening: exotic yet tinged with hints of the western world.
Indirizzo Web: http://www.babasissoko.com
E-mail:
sissoko@tiscalinet.it
ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE"BABA SISSOKO &
TAMAN KAN"
INFO-LINE +39 340 5265727
STAGE PLAN Baba Sissoko & Taman Kan