Sona Jobarteh (born 1983
) is a Gambian multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer. She is from one of the five principal
kora-playing
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 ...
families of West Africa, and is the first female professional kora player
to come from a griot family. She is the cousin of the celebrated kora player
Toumani Diabate, and is the sister of the diaspora kora player
Tunde Jegede
Tunde Jegede (born 28 January 1972) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist in contemporary classical, African and pop music, who is of Nigerian descent and born in England and as a child travelled to Africa to learn the art of the kora. He is ...
.
Early life and education
Born in London,
Maya Sona Jobarteh is a member of one of the five principal kora-playing (griot) families from West Africa, and the first female member of such a family to rise to prominence on this instrument. The playing of this 21-stringed harp-like instrument was exclusively passed down from father to son.
The instrument is an important element of the Mandingo peoples in West Africa and their playing is reserved only to certain families called griot.
She is the granddaughter of the griot of her line, Amadu Bansang Jobarteh, whose father migrated from Mali to Gambia. Her cousin is the well-known, celebrated kora player
Toumani Diabaté
Toumani Diabaté ( ; born 10 August 1965) is a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styles. I ...
. Her mother Galina Chester is English. She has a son, Sidiki Jobarteh-Codjoe, born in 2010.
She has studied the kora since the age of three, at first taught by her brother
Tunde Jegede
Tunde Jegede (born 28 January 1972) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist in contemporary classical, African and pop music, who is of Nigerian descent and born in England and as a child travelled to Africa to learn the art of the kora. He is ...
, who is 11 years older, and with whom she traveled several times a year to the Gambia as a child, and then by her father,
Sanjally Jobarteh. She attended the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
, where she studied cello, piano and harpsichord, and soon after went on to the
Purcell School of Music to study composition.
She also completed a degree at
SOAS, University of London
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...
. She is fluent in
Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to:
Media
* ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957
* ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel
* ''Mandingo (play)'', a play by Jack Kir ...
as well as in English.
Musical career
She gave her first performance at London's
Jazz Café
The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue.
In 2020 the Jazz Cafe celebrates its 30th year, h ...
at the age of four,
and performed at festivals several times in her early childhood.
When still a music student she worked on several orchestral projects, including the "River of Sound" with the
Irish Chamber Orchestra
The Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) is an Irish classical music ensemble, administratively based at the University of Limerick.
János Fürst founded the ICO in 1963. The ICO consisted only of strings as its regular ensemble for many years, adding wi ...
, featuring
Evelyn Glennie
Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish people, Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015.
Early life
Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Sco ...
, and other collaborative works, including performances with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...
,
Britten Sinfonia
Britten Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra ensemble based in Cambridge, UK. It was created in 1992, following an initiative from Eastern Arts and a number of key figures including Nicholas Cleobury, who recognised the need for an orchestra in the ...
, Milton Keynes City Orchestra and the Viva Chamber Orchestra.
[Black History Month: Home](_blank)
In 2002 she performed in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
with the renowned jazz vocalist
Cleveland Watkiss
Cleveland Watkiss, (born 21 October 1959), is a British vocalist, actor, and composer.
Biography
Cleveland Watkiss was born in Hackney, East London, to Jamaican parents, and was one of nine children. He is the older brother of pianist Trevo ...
, also forming a part of his support act for
Cassandra Wilson at the
Barbican
A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes.
Europe ...
in London. She also featured on
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...
's Mali Music Project, which was later performed for
Jools Holland
Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...
.
She has collaborated on stage with
Oumou Sangaré
Oumou Sangaré ( bm, Umu Sangare; born 25 February 1968 in Bamako) is a Grammy Award-winning Malian Wassoulou musician, sometimes referred to as "The Songbird of Wassoulou". Wassoulou is a historical region south of the Niger River, where the mu ...
, Toumani Diabaté,
Kasse Made Diabaté and the
BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Jobarteh is a regular member of her brother Tunde Jegede's African Classical Music Ensemble, which has toured England, Ireland, Africa and parts of the Caribbean.
She has contributed to his albums ''Malian Royal Court Music'' and ''Lamentations'', for which she composed two pieces, one of which also featured on the album ''Trance Planet Vol. 5'' (released on Triloka records, Virgin in the US). She also works with the distinguished spoken-word artist HKB FiNN as an instrumentalist, co-writer, singer and producer. For her solo work, such as her performance at the 2014 Festival Internacional Cervantino, in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, she has a band with members
Kari Bannermann on electric guitar,
Kyazi Lugangira on acoustic guitar,
Mamadou Sarr on African percussions (as
calabash or
djembe
A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa.
According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...
),
Alexander Boateng on drums and
Andi McLean on the bass.
Her debut album was ''Afro-Acoustic Soul'', containing songs about bittersweet love and social themes. The influences on this album are mixed with some that could be played on more conventional European radio formats.
Her second was ''Fasiya'' (2011). She makes a guest appearance on the 2021 album ''Djourou'' by
Ballake Sissoko.
Jobarteh also teaches the kora in London. She worked with her father,
Sanjally Jobarteh, in setting up a formal music school in the Gambia, named after her famous grandfather.
Film composer
Sona Jobarteh made her debut as a film composer in 2009 when she was commissioned to create the soundtrack to a documentary film on Africa entitled ''
Motherland
A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...
''.
The score was an innovative exploration into the cinematic representation of a classical African sound world. While much of Jobarteh's score drew primarily on the West African griot tradition, she also had to reinvent it to accommodate for the demands of the visual realm.
To create this film score Sona explored instruments in different ways to that of their traditional setting. She has used the kora as a bass instrument as well as tuning it to an "Arabic" scale. She has used the guitar to emulate the sound of an African lute, as well as being influenced by the West African griot style of playing.
She invented a new instrument called the
Nkoni for use in many of the compositions to capture a unique sound. This instrument is a cross between the kora and the
Donso Ngoni, expanding the tonality and mood of the African musical sonic. Jobarteh's vocal style draws on the West African griot style, although there are aspects that also lean towards East African influences.
Factored into the creation of a unique African aesthetic was Jobarteh's avoidance of two crucial paradigms; first, the reliance on the cinematic familiarity of western stringed instruments, and secondly the stereotypical predominance of drumming as a signature of African musical representation.
Artistry
She is English-born of African heritage, and strongly identifies with the latter.
Spending significant time in both England and the Gambia,
she blends different musical styles, from both the European and West African traditions.
However, unlike her contemporaries, she explores and expands on traditional African roots rather than trying to fuse them with contemporary hip-hop and jazz.
Instead, she looks to reinterpret traditional music.
In addition to the kora, she also sings and plays the guitar.
Discography
* Producer and guest artist on ''Spoken Herbs'' – (2006)
* ''Music of the Diaspora'' (''500 Years Later'' Soundtrack) – Souljazzfunk (2006)
* Guest artist on ''Nu Beginin (Ty2) – (2007)
* ''Afro Acoustic Soul'' – Sona Soul Records (2008)
* Producer and guest artist on ''Light in the Shade of Darkness'' (HKB FiNN) – (2008)
* ''Motherland: The Score'' – African Guild Records (2010)
* ''Fasiya'' – African Guild Records (2011)
* ''Badinyaa Kumoo'' – African Guild Records (2022)
Film credits
* ''
500 Years Later
''500 Years Later'' ( ') is a 2005 independent documentary film directed by Owen 'Alik Shahadah and written by M. K. Asante, Jr. It has won five international film festival awards in the category of Best Documentary, including the UNESCO "Break ...
'' (Kora player)
* ''The Idea'' (Actress)
*''
Broken Embraces
''Broken Embraces'' ( es, Los abrazos rotos, links=no) is a 2009 Spanish romantic thriller film written, produced, and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Led by an ensemble cast consisting of many Almodóvar regulars, it stars Lluís Homar as a blind ...
'' (Kora player)
*''The First Grader'' (Singer)
*''
Motherland
A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...
'' (Composer)
*''Beast'' (performer: "N'na Duniyaa") / (producer: "N'na Duniyaa") / (writer: "N'na Duniyaa")
References
External links
Sona Jobarteh Official WebsiteSona Jobarteh on BBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jobarteh, Sona
1983 births
Living people
Musicians from London
Gambian Kora players
English people of Gambian descent
English people of Malian descent
Gambian singers