Kélétigui Diabaté | en

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...

Kasse Mady Diabate was born in Kéla, Mali in 1949. The Diabatés are one of the two biggest griots families. Their ancestor Morykaba Diabaté fought with Soundjata in the 13th century. Kela is the capital of the griots, the Mecca of musical tradition. All of his cousins, brothers, sisters, know how to sing without micro before thousands of people but Kassé Mady is different because of his sweet voice. He owes his fame in Mali to this gentle, though powerful voice. At 20, he was already famous in Kangaba, the old Mandingo capital. Demba Diallo, the governor of the Kangaba...

Kélétigui Diabaté (1931 – 30 November 2012) was a Malian musician, described as an "undisputed master" of the balafon, and as "one of the greatest figures in Malian contemporary music". Diabaté was born in 1931 into a family of well-known musicians, and learned to play guitar and saxophone as well as the balafon. In the late 1950s, he helped form the Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine (Première Formation), which toured West Africa. He became a founding member, as guitarist, of L'Orchestre National "A" de la République de Mali, also known as Formation A, which was set up at Mali's independence...

The group's leader since it's inception in the mid 1960's was Keletigui Traoré, a former member of the elite all-star Guinean Syli Orchestre National, and who died in November 2008 at age 74. The band continues on, (they originally started out as Orchestre de la Paillote) and it's musical legacy lives on despite Traoré's passing when they still play regularly in the capital city of Conakry. Other well respected musician's who've played for the orchestra include Momo Soumah ( aka "Wandel" ) on sax, and Linke Condé on lead guitar. Keletigui et ses Tambourinis were at the heart of Guinea’s...