UNITED ONE. RECORDS JELI MOUSSA SISSOKO "Ballake"

Jeli Moussa Sissoko "Ballake" - Kora Music From Mali - BMV 9764-2 Incredibly beautiful music from renowned kora master, Ballake Sissoko, on par with Toumani Diabate's work. Strong melody and rhythm lines bring depth to these traditional harp tunes. A high quality recording from the master's compound in Africa with an outstanding improvisation of the German national anthem! After his worldwide sucess together with Toumani Diabate on "New Ancient Strings" (Rykodisc) and the CD he recorded with his band for Label bleu/Indigo "Djeli", this time Ballaké is featured all alone with pure Kora music: He still prefers to play in an acoustic setting late at night when the noise from the streets and compound life has died down and only the voices of the crickets can be heard. Here the delicate sound of the harp and the beauty of his musical creativity are fully revealed. This recording was made in the Sissoko compound in between rounds of tea and it captures this atmosphere. It illustrates the artist's continous research into the different regional traditions of the Mande world. In Mali, people say that the sound of the Kora "carries one's thoughts far away". Ballaké Sissoko, son of the great kora-player Jeli Madi Sissoko, replaced his father already at the age of 14 in the "Ensemble Instrumental National" in Mali. He revolutionised Malian Kora music in the 1980s, introducing chord progressions played on the guitar into his father's repertoire and was then also playing in the electric bands of the most famous "jelimuso". He remembers the difficulty of initially playing with virtuoso guitar players like Bouba Sacko and Jeli Madi Tounkara, who had picked up the techniques of the "n'goni" but also used western scales and rock riffs. Rising to the challenge, he was the first local Kora player to master western modes and still provide the rhythmic structure to accompany the dance steps of the singers. Simultaneously following different melodic lines with his thumbs and index fingers, Ballaké's playing combines a bass accompaniment, the harmonic progressions of the rhythm guitar and intricate solo improvisations. Ballaké works regularly with the Griot singer Kandia Kouyate, and together they toured USA, Europe and Australia. He has become the most sought after Kora player in the Malian griottes' circuit. Internet: www.bibiafrica.de