Bassekou Kouyate

Bassekou Kouyaté (born in 1966 in Garana) is a musician from Mali. His band is known as Ngoni ba.

He was born in Garana, Barouéli Cercle, 60 kilometres from Ségou in 1966. At the age of 12, he started playing the Ngoni. In the late 1980s he moved to the capital Bamako.

Kouyaté's debut album Segu Blue was released internationally in 2007 by Out Here Records and distributed in the U.K. by Proper Music Distribution. The album was produced by Lucy Durán. He has also appeared on a number of albums by Toumani Diabaté and has performed in several European countries. In 2010, Kouyaté has been on tour with Béla Fleck.

Kouyaté's wife, Amy Sacko, is also a successful solo artist and sings lead in his band. His father Mustapha Kouyaté was a ngoni player and his mother Yagaré Damba was a praise singer.

Kouyate, together with wife Sacko and Ngoni Ba, appeared at The 2013 Proms.

Discography

• Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba: Segu Blue (Out Here Records, 2007)
• Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba: I Speak Fula (Out Here Records, 2009)
• Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba: Jama Ko (Out Here Records, 2013)
• Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba: Ba Power (Glitterbeat Records, 2015)

• The Rough Guide To Desert Blues (World Music Network, 2010)

Filmography

• 2008: Throw Down Your Heart, by Sascha Paladino: Himself
• 2013: The Africa Express, by Renaud Barret and Florent de La Tullaye: Himself
• 2016: Easy Man, by Jasper Cremers and Dennis de Groot: Himself
• 2016: Mali Blues, by Lutz Gregor: Himself

Awards

• 2008 – BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music – Album of the Year & African Artist of the Year