“Jazz: that is us.”
Interview by Bram Posthumus
Bassekou Kouyaté is the great virtuoso on a West African ancient instrument, the ngoni. On January 31st he brings more subdued material, besides his virtuoso strings. Because he also wants to show - and especially to let hear - the source of his music. Together with his wife and musical partner Amy Sacko, he recorded his new album "Djudjon" - now nominated for a prestigious Grammy Award.
It was pitch dark and bitterly cold on the festival grounds in Essakane, a Saharan oasis just north of the mythical city of Timbuktu in Mali. On the modest stage, under the bright lights, was a band led by a very musical couple: Bassekou Kouyaté and Amy Sacko.
He was born near the venerable city of Ségou on the river called Djoliba, but which we call Niger. He has given the ancient ngoni its rightful place as a stage instrument.
Born in Kayes, near the border with Senegal, she has a voice that can be subtly whispered and theatrically reverberated. This has earned her a unique place in Mali, already blessed with fantastic voices, with a solo career and as the front woman of her husband Bassekou's ngoni orchestra.
The concert there in the desert was enchanting. In the vast emptiness, under an immense starry sky and over the sand dunes, the sharp, clear tones of the ngonis and the velvety voice of Sacko sounded. It was 2007 and they had just released their first single "Segu Blue".
Speaking on the phone from the Malian capital, Bamako, Bassekou recalls the legendary 'Festivals in the desert'.
Much has happened in Mali since then: the festival no longer exists, and armed gangs calling themselves jihadists control parts of the country, including Timbuktu and its environs. But Kouyaté, phlegmatic as ever, is unfazed.
"We still have a lot of live music here. There are more than enough venues in Bamako. It seems like everyone there has to believe that you can't play music anywhere anymore Not true at all. Come again, you know where to find live music...?"
Bassékou Kouyaté
If there is one thing that characterizes Mali, it is that music should really be live. This breeds musicians who only feel in their element after an hour of warming up on stage. This quality has long been appreciated outside Mali, and Kouyaté has added his own musical color to the mix: a veritable band composed entirely of Ngonis.
"I was the one who started to play the instrument standing up. That's unusual. If you go back to the tradition, people play sitting down. But I came up with it because we wanted to reach a new audience."
And he succeeded. With his dazzling technique on the four strings and with catchy short songs on the five albums he recorded with the Ngoni Ba Orchestra between 2007 and 2019. Gradually adding more and more effects pedals to, as he says himself, please the audience.
Djudjon
This new album "Djudjon" is more sober but deeper. A return to the land, his birthplace Garana, where it was recorded, with a wealth of classic material and once again a starring role for Sacko's voice, which has lost nothing of its eloquence.
"It is not that we are taking a step back, on the contrary. But it is very important for today that we know about our origins. How our ancestors lived."
"And this is exactly what today's generations know very little about. So we are in danger of losing our musical traditions. I'm not against today's music, don't get me wrong. My son raps, we listen to the big stars like Iba One (a stadium-filling artist in Mali, bp) and others.
My son writes the music for Iba One's raps and he sings. But at the end of the day, the important thing is that young people start to understand where our music comes from. I think that understanding is coming. That's why I made this album."
"It is not that we are taking a step back, quite the contrary. But it is very important for today's times that we know about our origins. How our ancestors lived."
Bassékou Kouyaté
Mali is the cradle of a lot of popular music. The legendary guitarist Ali Farka Touré - Bassekou has played with him many times - from Niafunké near Timbuktu was once asked if he thought his music was similar to the blues. Ali said something like, "If you want to call it blues, that's fine with me; I'll just call it my music. When asked, Bassekou, equally laconic, said something similar about jazz:
"This comes from Africa. Jazz: that's us. Improvising, soloing, that comes naturally to us. There is something very obvious about it. You're telling a story with music, and for some of us that goes back to the tradition of the griots (the chroniclers of the ancient Mali Empire, which covered large parts of West Africa from the 13th to the 16th century, bp).
But improvisation has to have a basis, an origin. Otherwise, you don't know what you're doing.
Vivre Ensemble
There is another role that music plays, and in today's Mali it plays it more than ever: that of transmitting messages, especially those of peace and national cohesion. In December 2024, Timbuktu will host the ninth edition of the Vivre Ensemble festival. The first edition began a year after the Festival au Désert was forced to stop by violent groups.
The city was occupied for some time and still lives under the threat of armed gangs calling themselves jihadists. International tourism, from which Mali earned a great deal of money, has virtually ceased as a result. Domestic tourism may be less capital-rich, but it is thriving. Kouyaté is optimistic about the upcoming festivities.
"I have been asked to play in Timbuktu again. Of course I will come. Unfortunately you can't come by road at the moment, it's really too dangerous. But when Timbuktu calls, you have to go".
In Ghent
And on January 31, 2025, back from the mythical Malian city, Kouyaté and Sacko will be on stage in Ghent. "Come on over," he invites.
"Come see and hear Bassekou and Amy again. This music is soft and gentle. It is good for you, especially in an existence that is often so stressful. Then music is medicine. So come and see, come and listen. Making music is my job, but I also consider it a privilege to be able to do this for you."
Bassekou Kouyaté & Amy Sacko
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