Baba Sissoko (born 8 March 1963) is a percussionist from Mali.

Career

Born and raised in

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger Rive ...

,Di Fazio, Di Maurizio (2015)
Baba Sissoko: "La paura è una malattia. Quando cominci ad averla sei già spacciato"
, ''

L'Espresso ''L'Espresso'' () is an Italian weekly news magazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies; the other is '' Panorama''. Since 2022 it has been published by BFC Media. History and profile One of Italy's foremost newsmagazines, ' ...

'', 21 November 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2017 from childhood, he played

tamani Tamani is a small town and commune in the Cercle of Barouéli in the Ségou Region of southern-central Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maal ...

, often accompanying the traditional female

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 ...

during wedding and other traditional ceremonies. In 1985, he toured internationally with the prestigious Instrumental Ensemble of Mali orchestra, playing the tamani and ngoni. In 1991, he founded his trio, Baba Sissoko & Taman Kan, and began extensively collaborating with top Malian artists and international musicians. His work with

Habib Koité Habib Koité ( bm, , Habib Kuwatɛ, born 1958 in Thiès, Senegal) is a Malian musician, singer, songwriter and griot based in Mali. His band, Bamada, was a supergroup of West African musicians, which included Kélétigui Diabaté on balafon ...

is notable as their collaboration lasted 12 years and was widely celebrated. In 1995, Baba Sissoko released his first album with Tama-Kan. Baba Sissoko's Taman Kan bandmates are Roger Sabal Lecco (who has played bass with Manu Dibango,

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she w ...

, Fela Kuti, Francis Bebey, Lucio Dalla, and

Louisiana Red Iverson Minter (March 23, 1932 – February 25, 2012), known as Louisiana Red, was an American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who recorded more than 50 albums. He was best known for his song "Sweet Blood Call". Biography Born ...

), and Reynaldo Hernandez (who has played percussion with the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional of Cuba and the

Gipsy Kings Gipsy Kings are a group of flamenco, salsa, and pop musicians from Arles and Montpellier in southern France, who perform mostly in Catalan but also mix in Spanish with southern French dialects. Although the group members were born in France, th ...

). The trio celebrates their own cultures ( Manding, Bambara people, Sonrai,

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

, and

Kongo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

), and incorporates blues, jazz and rock elements as well. To date, Baba Sissoko has recorded and released more than five albums. He also has taught traditional drum in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium, and led conferences for the

University of Calabria The University of Calabria ( it, Università della Calabria, UNICAL) is a state-run university in Italy. Located in Arcavacata, a hamlet of Rende and a suburb of Cosenza, the university was founded in 1972. Among its founders there were Beniamino ...

- Art, Music, and Spectacle Centre in Italy. He has lived in Italy since the late 1990s. In 2015 he collaborated with DJ Khalab on the ''Khalab & Baba'' album. In 2017, he collaborated with

Mighty Mo Rodgers Mighty Mo Rodgers (born July 24, 1942) is an American electric blues musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, who has released six albums to date. He has been influenced by the work of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Bland, Eddie Boyd, Jimmy ...

on the album, ''Griot Blues''.

Discography

* Baba Sissoko & Taman Kan, ''Taman Kan'', 1995 * ''Djana'', 1999 * Baba Sissoko & Taman Kan, ''Live in Studio'', 2000 * Baba Sissoko and Mario Artese, ''Griots'', 2001 * ''Djeliya'', 2004 * Baba Sissoko with

Famoudou Don Moye Donald Moye, Jr. (born May 23, 1946), known as Famoudou Don Moye, is an American jazz percussionist and drummer. He is most known for his involvement with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and is noted for his mastery of African and Caribbean percuss ...

& Maurizio Capone, ''Folk Bass Spirit Suite'', 2004 * Baba Sissoko Trio, ''Bolokan'', 2005 * ''Afro Jazz Live'', 2005 * Baba Sissoko & Taman Kan, ''Mali Music'', 2005 * ''Djekafo'', 2006 * Baba Sissoko with Eloi Boudimont (Fanfare et Chouer), ''Mali Mali'', 2007 * Baba Sissoko Jazz Ensemble, ''Bamako Jazz'', 2007 * ''Bibisa Solo – Moi je m'amuse'', 2008 * Aka Moon, Baba Sissoko & Black Machine, ''Culture Griot'', 2009 * Baba Sissoko e Il Pozzo di San Patrizio, ''The Eyes over the World'', 2010 * Baba Sissoko Buschwerk & The Masters of Groove, ''Trance'', 2011 * ''Mali Tamani Revolution'', 2011 * ''Sahel'', 2011 * Baba Sissoko, Officina Zoé, ''Taranta nera'', 2012 * Baba Sissoko Afroblues, ''African Griot Groove'', 2012 * Baba Sissoko Djeli Mah Damba Koroba, ''Baba et sa maman'', 2013 * Baba Sissoko, Saulius Petreikis, Indre Jurgeleviciute, Laurita Peleniute, Viktoras Diawara, ''Ma Lituanie'', 2013 * ''Tchi Wara'', 2014 * Baba Sissoko with Antonello Salis & Famoudou Don Moye, ''Jazz (R)Evolution'', 2015 * ''Three Gees'', 2015 * Baba Sissoko with

, ''Griot Blues'', 2017 * ''Amadran'', 2019

References

External links

*
Biography
on africultures.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sissoko, Baba 1963 births Living people Malian musicians People from Bamako 21st-century Malian people