Bassekou Kouyaté is a masterful virtuoso on the ngoni, a West African lute that was created over 800 years ago. The Malian musician formed a trio in the 1980s with kora player and player . He accompanied numerous renowned musicians on concerts, tours and studio recordings: besides Toumani Diabaté also , , and . Finally Bassekou himself plays the lead on his debut album Segu Blue. For the
… first time in record history, the ngoni takes center stage. Bassekou's group Ngoni Ba (meaning 'the great ngoni') is therefore Mali's very first ngoni quartet. The four men are complemented on Segu Blue by other musicians including Bassekou's wife (the ' ' of Mali) and guest singers , and . The repertoire is devoted to traditional Bamana music. Beautiful narrative songs about the great Bambara empire of Ségou in a music style very similar to the western blues. A must for fans of the Mali blues! (SvdP)more
