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Bassekou Kouyate

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Malian musician Bassekou Kouyate has made his mark with the West African lute – the ngoni … not by playing traditional music on the ancient instrument, but by exploring its potential with among other styles like Western music. Anchor Marco Werman has details.

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Photo Credit: Thomas Dorn

US TOUR DATES:

02/02, Tue Durango, CO Community Concert Hall at FLC **w/ Bela Fleck
02/03, Wed Santa Fe, NM Lensic Performing Arts Center **w/ Bela Fleck
02/04, Thu Fort Collins, CO Aggie Theatre **w/ Bela Fleck
02/05, Fri Aspen, CO Wheeler Opera House **w/ Bela Fleck
02/06, Sat Grand Junction, CO Avalon Theater **w/ Bela Fleck
02/08, Mon Boulder, CO Boulder Theatre **w/ Bela Fleck
02/10, Wed Dallas, TX Granada Theatre **w/ Bela Fleck
02/11, Thu Oxford, MS Lyric Theatre **w/ Bela Fleck
02/12, Fri Murray, KY Lovett Auditorium – Murray State University **w/ Bela Fleck
02/13, Sat Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall **w/ Bela Fleck
02/14, Sun Urbana, IL Canopy Club **w/ Bela Fleck
02/16, Tue Oberlin, OH Oberlin’s Finney Chapel **w/ Bela Fleck
02/17, Wed Ann Arbor, MI University of Michigan-Hill Auditorium **w/ Bela Fleck)
02/18, Thu Athens, OH Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium **w/ Bela Fleck
02/19, Fri Indianapolis, IN Butler University/Clowes Hall **w/ Bela Fleck
02/20, Sat Omaha, NE Holland PAC **w/ Bela Fleck
02/21, Sun Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk Music **w/ Bela Fleck
02/22, Mon Hamilton, OH Miami University-Parrish Auditorium **w/ Bela Fleck
02/24, Wed Wilmington, DE Grand Opera House **w/ Bela Fleck
02/25, Thu Storrs, CT U Conn-Storrs/Jorgenson Center for Performing Arts **w/ Bela Fleck
02/26, Fri Waterville, ME Opera House **w/ Bela Fleck
02/27, Sat Lewisburg, PA Bucknell University-Weis Center **w/ Bela Fleck
03/01, Mon Ottawa, ON CND Dominion-Chalmers United Church **w/ Bela Fleck
03/02, Tue Brunswick, ME Bowdoin College **w/ Bela Fleck
03/03, Wed State College, PA Eisenhower Auditorium **w/ Bela Fleck
03/04, Thu Roanoke, VA Jefferson Center **w/ Bela Fleck
03/05, Fri Frederick, MD Weinberg Center ** w/ Bela Fleck
03/06, Sat Atlanta, GA Rialto Center **w/ Bela Fleck
03/08, Mon Orlando, FL Plaza Theater **w/ Bela Fleck
03/09, Tue Fort Pierce, FL Sunrise Theatre **w/ Bela Fleck
03/10, Wed Jacksonville, FL Florida Theater **w/ Bela Fleck
03/11, Thu Tuscaloosa, AL BAMA Theater **w/ Bela Fleck
03/12, Fri Asheville, NC Orange Peel **w/ Bela Fleck
03/14, Sun Vancouver, BC Vancouver Olympics
03/15, Mon Whistler, BC Vancouver Olympics
03/16, Tue Seattle, WA The Triple Door
03/17, Wed Portland, OR Berbati’s Pan
03/18, Thu San Francisco, CA Slims
03/19, Fri Santa Cruz, CA Rio Theater
03/20, Sat Los Angeles, CA Getty Center
03/21, Sun Los Angeles, CA Getty Center
03/24, Wed Troy, NY Sanctuary for Independent Media
03/26, Fri New York, NY Zankel Hall (at Carnegie Hall)
03/27, Sat Somerville, MA Somerville Theater
03/28, Sun Rockland, ME The Strand
03/31, Wed Burlington, VT Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
04/01, Thu Portsmouth, NH Music Hall
04/02, Fri Savannah, GA Savannah Music Festival
04/03, Sat Savannah, GA Savannah Music Festival
04/07, Wed St. Louis, MO Lee Theatre, Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center
04/09, Fri Minneapolis, MN Venue TBD
04/10, Sat Minneapolis, MN The Cedar
04/15, Thu Las Cruces, NM NMSU Music Recital Hall
04/16, Fri Albuquerque, NM Outpost Performance Space

04/17, Sat Austin, TX Venue TBD

04/18, Sun Houston, TX Houston International Festival
04/22, Thu Lafayette, LA Festival International
04/23, Fri Lafayette, LA Festival International
06/09, Wed Charleston, SC Spoleto Festival USA
06/17, Thu New Haven, CT Festival of Arts & Ideas @ Yale Courtyard

Read the Transcript
This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

MARCO WERMAN:  I’m Marco Werman and this is The World.  The n’goni is a West African spike lute and in Mali where traditional music for the n’goni abounds, Bassekou Kouyate is a star of the instrument.  Kouyate is a griot.  He comes from a long line of musicians and storytellers, but he made his mark with the n’goni, not as a traditionalist but as a modernist.  Kouyate has done a lot to make the ancient n’goni a versatile instrument for the 21^st century.  For starters, he put a strap on it so he could play it standing up, like a rock guitarist and he has explored Western sounds with it, jamming with a diverse roster of American musicians from banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, to country music star, Bonnie Raitt.  Kouyate came to our London studios and shared some of his love for American traditional music with us.

BASSEKOU KOUYATE:  You like it?

WERMAN:  I like it; I’ve got B.B. King on the telephone.  He says he wants his n’goni back.

KOUYATE:  Thank you.

WERMAN:  Bassekou Kouyate, you are a magician of the n’goni.  Tell us what is the n’goni.  What does it look like?

KOUYATE:  Okay, [INDISCERNIBLE], I’m sorry for my English.

SPEAKER:  The n’goni usually has four strings but I added three so mine has seven strings.  It’s made with wood and cow’s skin stretched over the front.  The strings used to come from a horse tail but now we use fish line.

WERMAN:  And you have actually kind of innovated a bass n’goni, is that right?

SPEAKER:  Yes, we created a bass version.  We needed it because we always say that for a band, we need guitars, bass guitars and drums or Western instrument so I created a new African instrument we could use in a band.

WERMAN:  How did you get to the idea though that you would take this traditional instrument, the n’goni which is usually played pretty slowly, I understand, and adapt it to play really quickly with excitement, in almost a Jimmy Hendrix style?

SPEAKER:  Well it’s my work, my idea.  My approach and technique are different from my father’s and grandfather’s.  They made sure to pass on the great traditional Malian stories and songs, but they never Mali.  I have traveled the world so I have expanded the n’goni’s repertoire.  For example, my father and grandfather did not know swordfish but I do so instead of using Malian names for notes or chords, I use standard music notation.  Now it’s the same “C” whether you are here, in the U.S. or Japan, it’s much easier to learn the instrument and to understand one another when you play with other musicians.

WERMAN: You played in Ali Farikurte’s band for a number of years.  He was also kind of a musical adventurer.  How much credit do you give him for introducing you or at least kind of changing your musical ideas regarding the n’goni?

SPEAKER:  Ali was a great n’goni player and he always loved my music.  Before he died, he gave me great advice.  He even invited me to play on his album, Savanne.  One morning, I was asked to meet him at the recording studio.  We practiced his title song, Savanne, for about two minutes and then right away, we recorded the whole album together.  He even gave me solos.  Ali loved me and helped me as if I was his little brother.  After he died, when I made my first album, [SOUNDS LIKE] Siglublu, I dedicated a song to him.

WERMAN:  So let’s talk about the new album.  It’s called “I Speak Fula.”  Why did you write the title in English if you speak Fula?

SPEAKER:  In Mali, there are many different ethnic groups, [SOUNDS LIKE] Mande, Buel, Songay and so on.  In the song, I speak Fula.  I tell the story of a man from [SOUNDS LIKE] Debamana ethnic group who is trying to approach this beautiful girl in his village.  The girl is from the Fula ethnic group and she tells him he should find a girl of his own kind and he basically replies that if she follows him into his bed, he will show her that they have no problem speaking the same language.  There are always people who use ethnic heritage as a way to separate themselves from others and I really don’t like that.  Love has no borders or language issues.

WERMAN:  N’goni player extraordinaire, Bassekou Kouyate, the new album is called “I Speak Fula.”  Thank you very much for speaking with me.

KOUYATE:  Thank you, bro.

WERMAN:  Watch out American rock ‘n rollers.  Bassekou Kouyate warns he’s coming to these shores.  He begins a whopping 50 city tour next month.  There are more details on our website, TheWorld.org.  Our theme music was composed by Eric Goldberg.  The World is produced by Andrew Sussman, with Rhitu Chatterjee, Andrea Crossan, Joyce Hackel, Carol Hills, David Leveille, April Peavey, Adeline Sire, Traci Tong and Carol Zall.  Anne Lopez is our director; our editors are Ken Bader, David Baron, Jennifer Goren and Peter Thomson.  William Troop is senior editor, Chris Woolf, news editor.  Our managing editor is Jonathan Dyer.  The executive producer of The World is Bob Ferrante.  From the Nan and Bill Harris Studios at WGBH, I’m Marco Werman.  Have a great weekend.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.