Bassekou Kouyaté
Richard Kaby, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Virtuoso ngoni player Bassekou Kouyaté is a major musician in the Malian scene, whose typically upbeat and danceable music has found an audience in the west as well. He has been working with his band Ngoni Ba most of his career, frequently showcasing his family members, including his wife Amy Sacko, a griot and a superb singer with her own career. Kouyaté's sound is built mostly on acoustic instrumentation, except for a brief stretch between Jama Ko (2013) and Ba Power (2014). In that vein, his work generally has an organic and more overtly traditional flavor, specifically when compared to the more electric-oriented desert blues acts from the same region, such as Tinariwen or Vieux Farka Touré. He is also known as an innovator of ngoni, having given it a fuller sound with additional strings and developing the bass version of the instrument.
