“How come we’ve never heard of this beautiful instrument until now?” This was posted by a first-year college student to my world music course discussion board recently. He voiced what many of his ...

This is an updated version of a story first published on Nov. 13, 2022. Described as a cross between a harp, a lute, and a guitar, the kora is part of a musical tradition that dates back to the ...

From generation to generation, stories, songs and history are passed down through western African Griots — hereditary historians — who are tasked with the knowledge of over 800 years of history. That ...

The story of one of Mali's most prominent musicians and how his instrument was destroyed in transit made news all over the world last month. Ballaké Sissoko accused the Transportation Security ...

Two remarkable albums cultivated in the fecund sonic soil of Bamako showcase different West African syntheses of traditional and modern music. Kora player Toumani Diabaté's Boulevard de l'Indépendance ...

FITCHBURG — Fitchburg State University will present a kora performance by internationally renowned composer, musician and educator John Hughes at 4 p.m. Monday, in the main lounge at Hammond Hall.

Covering the upcoming concert by Ballaké Sissoko and Vincent Segal has rekindled my long-time love of the West African kora, the beautiful 21-string harp-lute used by griots, the storytellers who… ...

Toumani Diabaté, a Malian virtuoso of a 21-string instrument known as the kora, who brought a rich West African musical legacy to audiences around the world with genre-mixing collaborations ranging ...

On Thursday, Oct. 12, the St. Charles Public Library will host a special concert featuring the music of the West African kora with Sean Gaskell. The concert will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Carnegie ...

The Amherst Public Library, 221 Spring St., will present a very special program with guest Sean Gaskell, according to a news release. Gaskell’s appearance will start at 2 p.m. Oct. 4 for a performance ...

For Sona Jobarteh, Africa's first woman to play the sacred kora professionally, breaking with tradition has not been easy. At Abidjan's FEMUA urban music festival, which closes in the Ivory Coast city ...