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Mamadou Diabaté was born in 1975 in Kita, a Malian city long known as a cen… Read Full Bio ↴Mamadou Diabaté was born in 1975 in Kita, a Malian city long known as a center for the arts and culture of the Manding people of West Africa. As the name Diabate indicates, Mamadou comes from a family of griots, or jelis as they are known among the Manding. Jelis are more than just traditional musicians. They use music and sometimes oratory to preserve and sustain people's consciousness of the past, a past that stretches back to the 13th century when the Manding king Sunjata Keita consolidated the vast Empire of Mali, covering much of West Africa. The stories of these glory days and the times since remain important touchstones for people today, not only for the Manding, but for many citizens of Mali, Guinea, Gambia, and Senegal.
For more info, go to: http://www.mamadoukora.com
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Mamadou Sidiki Diabaté, along with his father Sidiki Diabaté and Toumani Diabaté, are one of a number of more traditionally-oriented kora players associated with the Mandé Sound.
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The Diabaté Legacy
The Diabaté family has produced 72 generations of kora players and jalis, the Malian counterpart of griots, or West African historians. A jali transmits the ancient oral history of western Africa through poetry and praise songs, and, like the Diabaté family, they are often also musicians.
Madou's father, the late Sidiki Diabaté, is widely known as "The King of Kora." Sidiki was originally from The Gambia, where much of griot culture is said to originate. Sidiki migrated to Mali during the years between World War II and 1961. His songs’ nationalist message became a powerful voice in the call for Independence. "Kaira," one of Sidiki's more popular songs, shares its name with a collective of young jalis in the Kita region of western Mali. Although the group was banned by the colonial French, the song remained popular and encouraged support for the Malian branch of the African Democratic Rally, led by the first president of independent Mali, Modibo Keita.
Sidiki Diabaté also played an important role in the preservation of Malian and Mandé history and culture. Sidiki performed with L'Ensemble Instrumental National du Mali, who performed Mandingo music and was one of West Africa's first national acoustic bands. They received the first prize at the Festival des Arts Nègres in Dakar in 1966, and a gold-medal at the Pan-African Cultural Festival at Algiers in 1969. Sidiki was also featured as a soloist on the first recording to feature the kora exclusively. The recording, called "Ancient Strings," brought together Mali's most respected korists; in addition to Sidiki Diabaté, Djelimadi Sissoko, Batrou Sekou Kouyate and N'fa Diabaté.
Mamadou Sidiki Diabaté's brother, Toumani Diabaté, is also a part of the family's growing musical legacy. Toumani was the first kora player to win a Grammy Award in 2006 and he has collaborated with musicians from all over the world, including Taj Mahal, Ketama, and Roswell Rudd.
Toumani has led many bands, including the Symmetric Orchestra, which mixes both modern western and traditional Malian styles. The Symmetric Orchestra is a large "big band" ensemble whose sound is reminiscent of Mali's path-forging national, regional and municipal orchestras of the 1960s and 70s. The band features both western instruments (electric guitars, drum kits and synthesizers) and traditional Malian instruments (such as the kora, jembe, balafon, and ngoni). Toumani comments, "The Symmetric Orchestra reflects the spirit of Mali's new democracy since 1992 – a spirit of equality, and creativity. There's a public in Mali today that love traditional music – griot music – but not the griot milieu. With the Symmetric, they feel free to enjoy this music without the obligations of tradition. And this gives us the freedom to present the tradition in new ways."[1]
The Symmetric Orchestra is just one example of Toumani's fusion of tradition and innovation; Toumani's album New Ancient Strings (1999) is a response to his father's classic recording Ancient Strings. Lucy Durán writes that the album "is rooted in the timeless classical tradition of the Mali that was once, during the pre-colonial era, played at the courts of kings and emperors; but it is reworked to the contemporary styles that are currently in favour in Bamako – the hot-house of many of West Africa’s finest musicians".[1]
Sidiki and Toumani both have had distinguished and ground-breaking careers as musicians and the Diabaté family's legacy not only continues with Toumani and Madou, but also Sidiki Diabaté, Toumani's son, who is also a kora player. Sidiki is the real-life inspiration for the children's book Sidikiba's Kora Lesson, by Ryan Thomas Skinner.
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The Mandé Sound
The Mandé Sound, with which Mamadou Sidiki Diabaté is often associated, is one of several regional varieties of Afro-pop. Mandé is the broad cultural designation of several ethnic groups in West Africa, including (though not exclusively) the Mandinka, Maninka (or "Malike"), Sarakole, Bambara, and Dyula, residing primarily in Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, the northern regions of Ivory Coast, and the western regions of Burkina Faso.
The Mandé Sound is characterized by samba rhythms, parallel thirds vocal harmony, and smooth, virtuosic electric guitar leads. It makes use of modal scales (particularly common is the Lydian mode, with a raised fourth, taken from traditional music). This style frequently makes use of traditional Mandé instruments such as the kora, ngoni (plucked lute,) and balafon (framed xylophone). Although women figure prominently as vocal soloists in traditional Mandé music, they are less likely to be figured in the Mandé Sound. The repertoire is heavily drawn from traditional jali music, either in popular arrangements of traditional songs or in new compositions in a traditional melodic style.
The Mandé Sound originated in Guinea with the founding of Africa's first national dance troupe (which included musicians,) founded by Keita Fodeba, with the intention of bringing West African music to a global stage. In 1958, and several years after, Guinea has celebrated its independence by producing albums of traditional and popular performers through Tempo Records of Hollywood. In 1970, Guinea pioneered the production of African popular music by establishing the first African label, Syliphone. By 1985, Syliphone had released over 80 LP discs of popular bands from all over Guinea boasting the Mandé Sound. Madou's brother, Toumani Diabaté was first recorded by this label with his ever-popular group Bembeya Jazz National.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamadou_Sidiki_Diabaté#The_Diabaté_Legacy

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