Toumani Diabaté used to say that his family had played the kora for seventy-one generations. When he died in Bamako in July 2024, Mali lost one of the greatest players the instrument has known.
Diabaté was born in Bamako in 1965, the son of Sidiki Diabaté, a celebrated kora player known as the king of the kora. He grew up in the griot tradition, in which music, history and genealogy are passed down through families. He taught himself to play by listening to his father’s recordings.
The kora
The kora is a harp-lute with 21 strings, a long wooden neck and a large gourd body covered with cowhide. It is central to the music of the Mande world, from Mali and Guinea to Senegal and The Gambia. Players pluck the strings with the thumbs and index fingers, playing bass lines, melodies and improvised runs at the same time.
Kaira
In 1988, Diabaté recorded Kaira in London, one of the first albums of solo kora music. It showed the full range of the instrument and made him known internationally.
Collaborations
Diabaté was open to working with musicians from other traditions. He played with the Spanish flamenco group Ketama and the bassist Danny Thompson on Songhai, with the blues musician Taj Mahal on Kulanjan, and with Björk on her album Volta.
His best known collaborations were with Ali Farka Touré, the Malian guitarist. Their album In the Heart of the Moon won a Grammy in 2006, and Ali and Toumani, recorded shortly before Touré’s death in 2006, won another in 2011.
Symmetric Orchestra
Diabaté also led the Symmetric Orchestra, a large band mixing musicians from across the Mande region, playing modern arrangements of traditional music in Bamako clubs.
Family
His son, Sidiki Diabaté, named after Toumani’s father, became a star in his own right, mixing kora with modern Afro-pop and hip-hop. The family tradition continues.
Death
Diabaté died in Bamako on 19 July 2024, aged 58, after an illness. Tributes came from musicians around the world.
Legacy
Diabaté took the kora from the courts and ceremonies of the Mande world to concert halls across the globe, while keeping its traditions intact. Many younger kora players name him as their inspiration.
He was the seventy-first generation. With his son, the line goes on.
