Mandé Sila Tour Celebrates The Mandingo Empire

By John Roos

An abundance of traditional West African musical riches will be experienced when guitarist Habib Koité, balafonist Aly Keïta, and kora player Lamine Cissokho (plus Koité's percussionist Mama Koné) take the stage Thursday and Friday nights at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley. These two shows are stopovers on a current tour celebrating Mandé Sila, described as the way of the Mandingo empire, symbolizing languages, cultures, music, and the complete organology of West Africa.

Koité, 66, descends from the Khassonke griots, the traditional troubadours who provide wit, wisdom, and music at social gatherings. Koité became immersed in music from an early age, inspired by both his parents and his paternal grandfather who played the kamele n'goni, a traditional four-stringed instrument from the Wassolou region of Mali. His mission over the years has been to make music derived from the different ethnic musics of the region, which have enormous diversity in the sonic landscape as each regional music has quite distinct colors, languages and social protocols. And ultimately, his goal has been to weave in where suited his western rock, folk and jazz influences to create something truly unique.

Koité is perhaps the best-known of these four musicians, having sold more 400,000 albums and performed nearly 2000 concerts worldwide since recording his first album, 1995's Muso Ko.

I got hooked on Koité’s rippling rhythms and enchanting melodies when I first heard his 2001 release, Baro. That 13-track collection pulled me into an unfamiliar yet welcoming world where wisdom, magic, morality, sacrifice and devotion all have a place in our lives. Koité sings in the major languages of Mali, including Bambara, Songhai, Peil, Bobo, and his own Khassonké; therefore, a song derived from a specific music culture will use the language and musical structures of that culture or ethnic group.

A griot born in Casamance, south of Senegal, Lamine Cissokho became enamored with the kora--a 21-stringed, predominantly West African instrument which is plucked with the fingers and combines features of the lute and harp--as a child when hearing the instrument's intoxicating sounds produced by his father, Sana Cissokho, one of the master kora players of his generation. In addition, Lalo Keba Drame, considered by many as the king of the kora, was Cissokho's great-uncle and another pivotal source of inspiration.

Cissokho has created a style defined by both great finesse and sensitivity, one that generates a calming, tranquil mood. He has recorded six albums since 2011 with a focus on celebrating musical traditions with a spirit of adventure, where unlikley collaborations with the likes of French jazz pianist Olivier Hutman and slide guitarist Manish Pingle created impressively unique results. (For an introduction to Cissokho's lovely music, I highly recommend his jazzy, sublime 2019 release, Sunujazz.)

Aly Keïta, born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and now living in Berlin, fell in love with the balafon (an instrument similar to the marimba) at an early age listening to his father, himself a balafon player. Keïta, 55, who freely wanders from pulsating African rhythms to more subtle, intricate jazz stylings, has long sought out musical collaborations that stretch his talents, including performing alongside Omar Sosa, Jan Galega Bronnimann, Guo Gan, Kélétigui Diabaté, Mimino Garay, and Pharoah Sanders, among others.

Bringing these four men together for the first time germinated from an idea of Koité's U.S. agent working for IMN World. After the highly popular Brothers in Bamako project, where in 2012 Koité teamed with American bluesman Eric Bibb (and the pair was backed by Koné), it was suggested that Koité's loyal fan base would enjoy a slightly lighter, more acoustic version of that sound and style.

Now many years later, the time finally felt right to put Mandé Sila together.

Koité's international manager, Michel De Bock of Contre-Jour in Belgium, suggested that Keïta was a worthy successor to the late balafon player Kélétigui Diabaté. As for the kora, Koité met Cissokho at a concert with Bibb and the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra, hit it off right away. Then Koné, Koité's longtime percussionist, was added to complete the Mandé Sila line-up.

According to De Bock, Habib, the Malian . . . . Aly, the Ivorian . . . . and Lamine, the Senegalese, were the perfect representation of the richness of this great Mandingo empire. He added that this project has come just at the right time to give Koité's career a breath of fresh air before he returns with a personal album with his old band, Bamada.

Can the expectations of this unique collaboration--which does seem quite natural--yet still be daunting in any way for these musicians?

"It will definitely be a new experience and a challenge for us all," said Keïta recently by phone from his Berlin residence. "We might need to make some adjustments, or even compromise. For myself, it's different not having a bass player and I've never played with a drummer or as a quartet, and that's okay. You adapt to the moment and maybe be a little more flexible or spontaneous than usual."

Keïta is excited about this tour and the opportunity to perform alongside Koité, Cissokho, and Koné. He collaborated previously with Koité back in 2006, 2008 and 2012-13, and although Keïta has joined forces with numerous other artists over the years, he told me that he can be very choosy about who 'he says yes to.'

For a collective experience to be truly satisfying, Keïta maintains, "Everyone involved has to share in a common goal. You can't be pulling in different directions. Sometimes, if it gets too complicated, it just might not be the right fit. There has to be a mood or feeling, and a connection, established."

That said, the Mandé Sila project promises to generate nothing but a communal, positive vibe.

"I imagine we all will be very close after these shows," asserts Keïta. "I never thought I'd be touring with Habib. He's so well known and more experienced. I have so much respect for him. We will have fun, and I want those people seeing us to share in the good times we create in the moment."

*Habib Koité, Aly Keïta, and Lamine Cissokho, plus Mama Koné, celebrate Mandé Sila Thursday and Friday nights at Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley, (510) 644-2020. 8 p.m. $44-$49, includes fees. www.thefreight.org.