01 Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba

Ba Power

(Glitterbeat Records, 2015)

Bassekou Kouyate has done for the ngoni what Toumani Diabaté did for the kora. All five of the albums he’s made with his Ngoni Ba band could have been included here. This, the fourth full-length, is a fine example of his amplified playing and hard-rocking style which has led to him being dubbed the ‘Hendrix of the Ngoni’.

02 Makan Badjé Tounkara

Daba

(Buda Musique, 2017)

From a renowned griot family, Tounkara accompanied some of West Africa’s most celebrated singers, including Salif Keita, Baaba Maal and Mah Damba, before embarking on a solo career. His innovation of adding three additional strings to the conventionally four-stringed ngoni lends tremendous flexibility to the mix of instrumentals and vocal tracks on offer.

03 Issa Bagayogo

Sya

(Six Degrees, 1998)

The late Issa Bagayogo recorded four albums for Six Degrees before his untimely death in 2016 at the age of 55. This was the first of them, mixing his earthy kamalengoni playing and gritty voice with electronic programming added by French producer and keyboardist Yves Wernert. It earned him the nickname ‘Techno Issa’, but it’s all done without diminishing the unwavering power of the Wassoulou beat.

04 Cheick Hamala Diabaté & Bob Carlin

From Mali to America

(5-String Productions, 2007)

The North American five-string banjo traces its roots via the slave routes back to the traditional African ngoni and this seamless collaboration between the Malian griot Diabaté and US clawhammer banjo player Bob Carlin explores the links between their respective instruments with both curiosity and intelligence. The contrast-and-compare textures are endlessly compelling and deservedly earned the pair a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional World Music Album.

05 Trio Da Kali & Kronos Quartet

Ladilikan

(World Circuit, 2017)

There are so many reasons to admire this exquisite fusion between three young Malian musicians and the world’s most adventurous string quartet, prominent among them the fine playing of Mamadou Kouyaté, eldest son of Bassekou, on the super-sized and seldom heard bass ngoni alongside the soulful vocals of Hawa Diabaté and Fodé Lassana Diabaté’s balafon.

06 Kokanko Sata

Kokanko Sata

(Honest Jon’s, 2010)

Said to be the only female player of the kamalengoni (a hunter’s harp with different tuning and extra strings making it closer to a kora), Sata first came to our attention playing on Damon Albarn’s Mali Music (2002). The Blur singer was so impressed that he subsequently asked her to record a solo album for his Honest Jon’s label. Alongside her dynamic playing she’s also a fine singer, as this deeply traditional set proves.

07 Ballaké Sissoko & Baba Sissoko

Sissoko & Sissoko

(homerecords.be, 2019)

In their youth during the 1980s, ngoni maestro Baba Sissoko and his kora-playing cousin Ballaké performed together as members of the National Ensemble of Mali, taking the places of their respective fathers as custom dictates within their griot tradition. More than 30 years later, the pair reunited to record this magnificent album of ngoni-kora duets in a Belgian church.

08 Rokia Traoré

Beautiful Africa

(Nonesuch, 2013)

“It’s an instrument you can put with everything,” Rokia Traoré told Songlines on the release of Beautiful Africa. “I’ve worked with ngoni in classical music projects, and of course, it goes with blues or jazz or rock’n’roll.” Produced by PJ Harvey’s longtime collaborator John Parish, it’s the most rock-oriented album in her canon, but Mamah Diabaté’s ngoni stillgets equal billing and holds its own alongside Rokia’s electric guitar.

09 Gambari Band

Kokuma

(Membran Media, 2016)

Taking their name from a traditional rhythm from the Mopti region of Mali and including several fugitives from Bassekou Kouyate’s group, the nine-piece Gambari Band features no fewer than three ngoni players plucking and snapping their strings explosively over some fierce polyrhythms. The band were recorded live in the studio giving this album a real sense of energy and urgency, with two female lead singers adding uplifting harmonies.

10 Electro Bamako

Now

(CSB Productions 2015)

Parisian purveyor of electronic beats and sampled treats, Marc Minelli first unveiled his Electro Bamakoproject in 2001 in collaboration with Malian diva Mamani Keita. He revived the name in 2015 to team up with kamalengoni maestro and singer Paul Sidibé and Damien Traini on djembé and second kamalengoni. With the two kamalengonis jamming thrillingly alongside kick and snare drums, traditional Malian grooves are mixed with spacious dancefloor beats in an invigorating jamboree.

This article originally appeared in the November 2024 issue of Songlines. Never miss an issue – subscribe today