Trio Da Kali
Biography
The Trio Da Kali come from the sort of lineage that only Mali can provide. All three musicians come from a long line of distinguished Mande griots (hereditary musicians). Consisting of vocals, bass ngoni, and balafon, the band takes its name from one of the oldest and most iconic praise songs in the repertoire, dating from many centuries ago. “Da kali” means “to swear an oath”; in this case, it is the griots’ pledge to maintain their art.
Fodé Lassana Diabaté, the musical director of the group, is a virtuoso player of the balafon, traditional xylophone, from Guinea, where the instrument originated in the 13th century. Lassana began playing at the age of five at home in Conakry with his father, Djelisory Diabaté, a master balafon player, from Kindia, some 150 kms inland. He later apprenticed himself to celebrated balafon masters such as the late, great El Hadj Djeli Sory Kouyate, also from Kindia, as well as the late Alkali Camara. To this day, Lassana cherishes the now rare recordings of his mentors, whose unique styles continue to be an important inspiration to him. He settled in Mali in the late 1980s after being invited to join the band of the diva Ami Koita, and has since recorded with many of Mali’s top artists such as Toumani Diabaté, Salif Keita, Babani Koné, Tiken Jah Fakoly, and Bassekou Kouyaté. He was also a member of the Grammy-nominated Mali-Cuba collaboration, Afrocubism.
Hawa Kasse Mady Diabaté is Mali’s finest female voice today, revered at home for her knowledge of repertoire and for her powerful and expressive voice, rooted in the tradition of Kela, a village in the southwest famous for its griot music. She is the daughter of Mali’s most celebrated male singer, the late Kasse Mady Diabaté, a guardian of Kela’s tradition. Today Hawa is amongst the most sought after stars at weddings.
Bass ngoni player Mamadou Kouyaté, the eldest son of the instrument’s greatest exponent Bassekou Kouyaté, also holds down the groove in his father’s band Ngoni Ba. He grew up in Bamako playing the ngoni with his father and the extended family, and is astonishingly creative in the bass lines he produces on this four-string bass string instrument. Mamadou is also involved in the thriving Bamako hip-hop scene.
Trio Da Kali were brought together in 2012 by Lucy Duran on behalf of the Aga Khan Music Initiative (AKMI) to record an album with Kronos Quartet, who’ve been exploring music around the world for 40 years. Lassana calls it “the best collaboration I have done,” while Kronos’ leader David Harrington discovered the classical nature of Malian tradition: “Lassana composed the piece on the balafon and I thought it was an amazing improvisation and then in rehearsal he played it note for note with us – absolutely accurately. To think that it is not composed and each note is not important is incorrect.” Harrington also suggested a Mahalia Jackson track which was translated into Bamana for the album: “the closest I’ve ever been to Mahalia Jackson is through Hawa.”
The album Ladilikan was released in 2017 to huge acclaim. Trio da Kali and Kronos performed together in the US, and Europe and in 2013 Trio Da Kali were included in the BBC Proms.
Ladilikan is a sublime meeting of two superb chamber groups: the Malian, dating back to the 13th century, and the string quartet, dating back to the 18th – this record shows just how innovative, meaningful and musically satisfying such meetings can be.
BIOGRAPHY
The Trio Da Kali come from the sort of lineage that only Mali can provide. All three musicians come from a long line of distinguished Mande griots (hereditary musicians). Consisting of vocals, bass ngoni, and balafon, the band takes its name from one of the oldest and most iconic praise songs in the repertoire, dating from many centuries ago. “Da kali” means “to swear an oath”; in this case, it is the griots’ pledge to maintain their art.
Fodé Lassana Diabaté, the musical director of the group, is a virtuoso player of the balafon, traditional xylophone, from Guinea, where the instrument originated in the 13th century. Lassana began playing at the age of five at home in Conakry with his father, Djelisory Diabaté, a master balafon player, from Kindia, some 150 kms inland. He later apprenticed himself to celebrated balafon masters such as the late, great El Hadj Djeli Sory Kouyate, also from Kindia, as well as the late Alkali Camara. To this day, Lassana cherishes the now rare recordings of his mentors, whose unique styles continue to be an important inspiration to him. He settled in Mali in the late 1980s after being invited to join the band of the diva Ami Koita, and has since recorded with many of Mali’s top artists such as Toumani Diabaté, Salif Keita, Babani Koné, Tiken Jah Fakoly, and Bassekou Kouyaté. He was also a member of the Grammy-nominated Mali-Cuba collaboration, Afrocubism.
Hawa Kasse Mady Diabaté is Mali’s finest female voice today, revered at home for her knowledge of repertoire and for her powerful and expressive voice, rooted in the tradition of Kela, a village in the southwest famous for its griot music. She is the daughter of Mali’s most celebrated male singer, the late Kasse Mady Diabaté, a guardian of Kela’s tradition. Today Hawa is amongst the most sought after stars at weddings.
Bass ngoni player Mamadou Kouyaté, the eldest son of the instrument’s greatest exponent Bassekou Kouyaté, also holds down the groove in his father’s band Ngoni Ba. He grew up in Bamako playing the ngoni with his father and the extended family, and is astonishingly creative in the bass lines he produces on this four-string bass string instrument. Mamadou is also involved in the thriving Bamako hip-hop scene.
Trio Da Kali were brought together in 2012 by Lucy Duran on behalf of the Aga Khan Music Initiative (AKMI) to record an album with Kronos Quartet, who’ve been exploring music around the world for 40 years. Lassana calls it “the best collaboration I have done,” while Kronos’ leader David Harrington discovered the classical nature of Malian tradition: “Lassana composed the piece on the balafon and I thought it was an amazing improvisation and then in rehearsal he played it note for note with us – absolutely accurately. To think that it is not composed and each note is not important is incorrect.” Harrington also suggested a Mahalia Jackson track which was translated into Bamana for the album: “the closest I’ve ever been to Mahalia Jackson is through Hawa.”
The album Ladilikan was released in 2017 to huge acclaim. Trio da Kali and Kronos performed together in the US, and Europe and in 2013 Trio Da Kali were included in the BBC Proms.
Ladilikan is a sublime meeting of two superb chamber groups: the Malian, dating back to the 13th century, and the string quartet, dating back to the 18th – this record shows just how innovative, meaningful and musically satisfying such meetings can be.
RELEASES
