Ancient and majestic,
Its 22 strings
And the hands of the kora player
Pulling on my heartstrings,
And sometimes making my tears fall.
But not because I'm sad.
I hear and feel the story being told.
It runs right through to my core,
Every time.
Nothing compares to this musical journey,
An unforgettable gift of happiness for our hearts.
Poem by Barbara Grehs, November 2019
I think kora is the most exquisite musical instrument in the world. We're incredibly lucky to see kora players in concert regularly in the UK, sharing their beautiful music with us. If you've never heard kora before, I hope you'll take a listen. It's truly life-enriching. Below is a selection of some of my very favourite kora songs.
Diabel Cissokho (Senegal)
"Kélékelé" from the album "Tambacounda Express"
Listen on YouTube
Diabel's website
Mosi Conde (Guinea)
"Ite Sey Ala Telena" from the album "Kaira Kora Africa"
Listen on Apple Music
Toumani Diabaté and Sidiki Diabaté (Mali)
"Jarabi"
Watch on YouTube
Amadou Diagne (Senegal)
"Alebi Natna" from the album "Journey"
Watch on YouTube
Amadou's website
Kimi Djabaté (Senegal)
"Kobe" from the album "Karam"
Listen on YouTube
Kimi on Bandcamp
Sefo Kanuteh (The Gambia)
Sefo's website
BBC Radio 3 interview
Sefo on Bandcamp
Sona Jobarteh (The Gambia)
"Kanu" Watch on YouTube
Sona's website
Seckou Keita (Senegal)
"If Only I Knew" from the album "22 Strings"
Watch on YouTube
Seckou's website
Malima Kone (Burkina Faso)
"Dambe"
Malima's website
Jali Bakary Konteh (The Gambia)
"Kelefa" from the album "Konteh Kunda"
Listen on Amazon
Jali on Bandcamp
Kadialy Kouyate (Senegal)
"Ifanji" from the album "Taling Dimalu Beautiful Tales"
Watch on YouTube
Kadialy's website
Bao Sissoko (Senegal)
"Nder" from the album "Tamala" by Bao Sissoko, Mola Sylla & Wouter Vandenabeele
Listen on YouTube
Jally Kebba Susso (The Gambia)
"Molu" from the album "Banjul-London"
Listen on Bandcamp
Sura Susso (The Gambia)
"Africa" from the album "Sila Kang"
Listen on Bandcamp
Sura's website
Blog copyright Barbara Grehs Published on 27 November 2019
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