Yacouba Sissoko
Yacouba Sissoko, a Master kora player from the Malian djely tradition, has devoted his musical gift to expand the awareness of West African history and culture, spread the word of peace and empower his listeners to take charge and realize their imagined futures. His performances have a magical effect on audiences as he skillfully transforms traditional songs and stories that he learned from his forefathers into modern day messages of peace, love and harmony. His flexible virtuosity, which enables him to move seamlessly from one musical genre to another, has attracted the attention of an eclectic mix of musicians who have sought him out as a collaborator.
He has performed toured and recorded with well-known African musicians, such as Sidiki Conde (Tokounou), Abdoulaye Diabate, Baaba Maal, and Kakande, and with many famous Western musicians, such as Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, Leroy Jenkins and Leni Stern. Easily transitioning between jazz, pop, R&B, and classical music, Yacouba can be seen regularly with Regina Carter, Rachel Brown, Oran Etkin and Benyoro.
In addition to performing as a soloist and a guest kora artist, Yacouba leads his own band SIYA. The band adeptly harmonizes the ancient practice of musical story telling on the solo kora with the modern fuller harmonies of today’s musical instrumentation. The fundamental principle of the band is to unite people and send a message to its listeners to return to the “source” of community and humanity; SIYA in Bambara means “Source”. The sound of SIYA represents the breakthrough of the past few generations of Western African musicians who have opened up this musical experience to new audiences, incorporating additional instruments and spanning musical genres.
