Dembo Konte & Kausu Kuyateh are master kora players from West Africa. Perha… Read Full Bio ↴Dembo Konte & Kausu Kuyateh are master kora players from West Africa. Perhaps more correct is to call these two griots. Foremost, they are the storytellers and keepers of the oral tradition of preserving the history of people (often royalty) and events via music. The tradition is often passed down from generation to generation, often within the same family. In this way, the stories and histories are taught and retained for hundreds of years.

Kausu & Dembo have recorded duet albums together and have collaborated with British jazz musicians in up-tempo versions of the songs, but the rhythm of the kora and the singing stays front and center.

Dembo is the son of the late kora master Alhaji Bai Konte.