Ballaké Sissoko (born 1968) is a

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

an player of the kora. He has worked with

Toumani Diabaté Toumani Diabaté ( ; 10 August 1965 – 19 July 2024) was a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he was involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styl ...

and

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

, and is a member of the group 3MA with Driss El Maloumi and Rajery.

Biography

Ballaké's father, Djelimady Sissoko, was a notable musician from the Gambia in his own right who moved to Mali and was funded by the government to be part of the national orchestra. Sissoko started playing music at a young age, as most born into the ''jeli'' or

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 ...

caste do. In 1981, when he was 13, Sissoko's father died, and he took his father's place within the Ensemble Instrumental National du Mali. He also performed with several prominent female singers before coming to fame through his duet with

in 1999. In 2000, he formed the trio Mande Tabolo with an n'goni player and a balafon player. His 2005 album, ''Tomora'', features

on kora, singers Alboulkadri Barry and

Rokia Traoré Rokia Traoré (born 24. January 1974) is a Malian-born singer, songwriter and guitarist. She made six albums between 1998 and 2016. ''Bowmboï'' (2003) won the Critics Award category at the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2004 and ''Tcham ...

and Fanga Diawara, violin soloist of the Mali National Instrumental Ensemble. His record ''

Chamber Music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

'' released in October 2009 was the result of a collaboration with Vincent Ségal, a classical cellist known for his work with Bumcello, and was released by French label No Format! and the U.S. label Six Degrees Records. He released a solo album, ''At Peace'', in 2013. Cellist Vincent Ségal produced the album and plays on several tracks. In 2023, Sissoko premiered a Concerto for Kora by the Lebanese composer Zad Moultaka at the Radio France concert hall in Paris. As of 2024, since 2022 Sissoko has been collaborating in duo concerts with South African guitarist Derek Gripper, who has transcribed kora music to play on his own

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

, with an album to be released circa April 2024.

The Broken Kora affair

On returning from a 2020 US tour, Sissoko checked in his €5000 custom-made kora at the airport in New York for the flight back to Paris. On his arrival he discovered that the instrument had been dismantled by

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilita ...

agency. According to Sissoko's manager, Corinne Serres, "Even if all the components that had been dismantled remained intact, it would take weeks for a kora of this calibre to return to its former state of resonance.". The customs agency, however, denied opening the kora case which should not have triggered an alarm in the security scanners. Sissoko's 2021 album ''Djourou'', also released by No Format, takes its name from these events.

Discography

* 1998 - ''Kora Music from Mali'' Kora-Solo Album (bibiafrica records) * 1999 - '' New Ancient Strings'' with Toumani Diabaté (Hannibal-Ryko) * 2000 - ''Déli'' (Label Bleu/Indigo) * 2003 - ''

Diario Mali ''Diario Mali'' is a collaboration album between Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi on piano and Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest ...

'' (Label Ponderosa) with

Ludovico Einaudi Ludovico Maria Enrico Einaudi OMRI (; born 23 November 1955) is an Italian pianist and composer. Trained at the Milan Conservatory, Conservatorio Verdi in Milan, Einaudi began his career as a classical composer, later incorporating other styles ...

* 2005 - ''Tomora'' (Label Bleu/Indigo) * 2009 - ''

'' (No Format!/Six Degrees) with Vincent Segal * 2011 - ''Humbling Tides'' (Talitres Records / No Format!) with Stranded Horse * 2013 - ''At Peace'' * 2015 - ''Musique de Nuit'' with Vincent Segal * 2017 - ''Anarouz'' with Driss al Maloumy (oud) and Rajery (valiha), featuring string instruments from Mali, Morocco, and Madagascar * 2019 - ''Sissoko & Sissoko'' with Baba Sissoko on ngonis, tama, and vocals * 2021 - ''Djourou'' * 2021 - ''A Touma'' * 2023 - ''Les Égarés'' with Vincent Segal (cello), Emile Parisien (saxophone) & Vincent Peirani (accordion) * 2024 - ''Ballaké Sissoko and Derek Gripper'' * 2024 - ''Bamako*Chicago Sound System'' with Nicole Mitchell * 2025 - ''Our Calling'' with Piers Faccini

References

External links

Calabash Music Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sissoko, Ballake Malian musicians 1968 births Living people Label Bleu artists Six Degrees Records artists Harmonia Mundi artists 21st-century Malian people