Mansour Seck is a Senegalese singer and musician born in

Podor Podor ( Wolof: Podoor) is the northernmost town in Senegal, lying on Morfil Island between the Sénégal River and Doué River on the border with Mauritania. It was the location of the ancient state Takrur. It is home to a ruined French colonial ...

, in the north of the country. Best known for his collaboration with lifelong friend

Baaba Maal Baaba Maal ( ff, 𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤦𞤢 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤, italics=no, born 13 June 1953) is a Senegalese singer and guitarist born in Podor, on the Senegal River. In addition to acoustic guitar, he also plays percussion. He has released several al ...

, he has also toured and released several solo albums. He is blind.

Biography

Seck was born into the

griot A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repos ...

caste, traditionally of low status and associated with singing, story telling and playing musical instruments. From childhood, Seck has been a close friend of

, and in 1977 the two musicians travelled to explore the musical traditions of Mauritania and Mali. Maal went to study Music in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

, and in 1982, he received a scholarship to study at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

in Paris. Once established there Maal invited Seck and two other musicians to join him. They formed a band which became known as ''Dande Lenol'' (The People's Voice) and played mainly to the Senegalese immigrant communities of Paris. Seck was the band's primary guitarist. The album "Djaam Leeli" (1984) is from this early time together. As their confidence grew, they toured in the US together with Seck's first solo release coming in 1994. Mansour Seck played alongside

as part of ''Dande Lenol'' at the

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

Festival at Charlton Park on 29 July 2007.

Music

Discography

*1984 – '' Djam Leelii'' (with

) – Mango Records *1991 – ''Baayo'' (with

) – Mango Records *1994 – ''N'Der Fouta Tooro, Volume 1'' – Stern's Africa *1995 – ''N'Der Fouta Tooro, Volume 2'' – Stern's Africa *1995 – ''

The Rough Guide to West African Music ''The Rough Guide to West African Music'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 1995. The second release of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, it largely focuses on Malian music, with six of the twelve tracks comin ...

'' –

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competit ...

*1997 – ''Yelayo'' – Stern's Africa *1999 – '' Unwired: Acoustic Music from Around the World'' – World Music Network *2013 – ''

The Rough Guide to the Music of Senegal ''The Rough Guide to the Music of Senegal'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 2013. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the release presents an overview of the music of Senegal on Disc One, and contains a ...

'' – World Music Network

References

The Leopard Man's African Music Guidecalabashmusic.comBiography of Baaba Maal at RFI

External links

Seck and Maal being received into Afropop's 'Hall of Fame'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seck, Mansour Senegalese guitarists Living people 21st-century Senegalese male singers Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Senegalese male singers