Check out this superb ensemble of Malian masters of the balafon, bass ngoni, and vocals plus the always adventurous Kronos Quartet, separately and together. Come early, doors at 6:30 (show is at 7:30) Look for our Afropop fixer at the green fence between the VIP and regulars sections straight out from center stage. We'll sit together as much as possible. Also visit our booth to say "hi" and tell us what artists and countries you'd like to hear from next season.
WHO:
No group has been more adventurously omnivorous in its collaborations than KRONOS QUARTET—in its forty-year career, over 900 works have been written for the group by composers from Argentina to Finland, Latvia to Afghanistan. Last year's Ladilikan is a high point in a career of high points, a collaborative record with the traditional Malian ensemble TRIO DA KALI. The three members of this supergroup come from a long lineage of musicians, as the vocalist Hawa Diabate belongs to the formidable Diabate family of griots, including her world-famous father Kassé Mady Diabaté. Balafonist Lassana Diabate—no direct relation—has worked with everyone from Taj Mahal to Béla Fleck. And Mamadou Kouyate plays a traditional lute called the n'goni, following in the footsteps of his GRAMMY-nominated father and n'goni master Bassekou Kouyate.
Inspired by gospel queen and civil rights pioneer Mahalia Jackson, the record runs the gamut "from subtle harmonic counterpoint, to circular riffs reminiscent of Steve Reich's minimalism, to grander phrasings that seem to join the dots between Malian blues and Appalachian folk." (The Guardian). The two bands grace our stage, separately and together, for a magical evening.
