WOMAD

Seckou Keita

From Senegal

It's always exciting and intriguing to hear a very old musical tradition being reinvigorated by a very young and very talented musician. Seckou Keita is a member of the royal Keita dynasty from Mali but he was born in Casamance, a southern province of Senegal in 1977. His lofty birth might have prevented him from becoming a 'jali' or griot, a traditional West African praise singer, were it not for the fact that he was raised by his mother's family, the Cissokho's, who were renowned griots from Senegal. Seckou learned the kora in the bosom of his family but he also developed a remarkable flair for drumming and percussion early in life. He started to perform at the crispy age of seven, with his famous uncle Solo Cissokho, and by twelve he had his own band, Coute Diomboulou. In 1996, Seckou left Africa for Scandinavia where he continued to perform at festivals with musicians from the world over. In 1998 he moved to the UK and became a member of Bath based global fusion pioneers Baka Beyond. Seckou also met and became firm friends with Kevin Willoughby, a dedicated Senegalese music aficionado, who has worked with Youssou N'Dour and Baba Maal amongst many others. Seckou recorded his debut album 'Baiyo', which means 'Orphan', which was released in the summer of 2000 and went on to impress audiences throughout Europe as a solo artist, earning a nomination from BBC Radio 3 listeners for a World Music Award in 2001. Jalikunda means 'house of the Jalis' in the Mandinka language of West Africa, and the group comprises two koras, bass and percussion. Their sound drills deep into African soil whilst breathing in all kinds of eclectic jazzy influences wafting in from who knows where.

From http://www.jalikunda.com/english/seckou.htm
October 2001

To find a musician who is not only an excellent percussionist but who also excels on the intricate and enchanting kora is indeed rare, but Seckou manages to achieve this and more. He is also a singer, a composer and is the main producer of his new album 'Baiyo'.

Seckou was born in the green and forested region of Casamance (south of Senegal), in 1978, into a famous "griot family", the Cissokho's.

He learnt the traditional kora from his family but this was not enough to satisfy his thirst for music . He would often escape to learn his second passion: percussion. This could involve running off after school to learn from other musicians, outside of his own family much to the worry and consternation of his grandfather who would severely reprimand him on his return!!

It was this sense of adventure which allowed Seckou to learn the sewourouba, bougarabou, sabar, kit drums and talking drum. Seckou started to perform professionally at festivals in Senegal at the age of seven.

By the age of 12 he had formed his own group, Koute Diomboulou and was performing all over the country. His international career took off in 1996 under the guidance of his uncle Solo Cissokho, a popular and well-known kora player and singer (again!) now living in Scandinavia.

He performed at the Forde festival in Norway with musicians from Norway, India and Cuba. The group combined the traditional music from each of the countries represented to create a new musical style.

This led to a tour for the group the following year at the Global Music Festival in India where they performed with Dr L. Subbrimaniam, an internationally renowned violinist and composer. In 1998, Seckou relocated to the UK where he became a member of Baka Beyond. He performed all over Europe (the Czech Republic, Spain, France, Portugal, Greece and of course the UK) in festivals such as Womad and Glastonbury.

In the middle of 2000, Seckou started recording his first album "Baiyo" (meaning Orphan). The album was finally released on 20th June 2001.

In the meantime, he met up with some great friends and colleagues who he had worked with previously in Senegal such as Kevin Willoughby and Landing Mané.

From that moment Jamoral was born. Seckou's music is influenced by his traditional and cultural background, his international experience and his own spiritual journey.