Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars
Biography :
One fine day, they decided to get people dancing in the refugee camp where they met, in Guinea, “because, when people connect with one another, they forget what else is happening.” Their new album, Radio Salone, came out in April and is quickly climbing the charts.
One of his ancestors was the first kora player in history. In the 1980s, his brother, Younoussa, became the first griot to settle in Québec. In Senegal, the Sissokho family are among the greatest of griots, who for centuries have conveyed the history of the Mandinka people by oral means. In short, Zal Sissokho was predestined to sing and play the kora.
Born in Senegal, he has played music since age 11. Also since an early age, he has performed songs inspired by the West African repertory, in Mandinka and In Wolof. He perfected his kora playing under the tutelage of Toumani Kouyaté, a master of the instrument, and later accompanied Senegalese lyricist and composer El Hadj N’Diaye.
He set off for Québec in the late 1990s and has performed with the Diouf brothers, Richard Séguin, the Montreal Jubilation Choir, Corneille, Monica Freire, Lilison, IKS, Muna Mingolé and Alpha Yaya Diallo, among others. He also puts his instrument to use in film music, including the music for Un dimanche à Kigali by Robert Favreau. In Las Vegas, he participates in the Cirque du Soleil show “O.”
In 2004, he founded his own group, called Buntalo. He surrounded himself with Montréal musicians from West Africa: Aboulaye Koné on guitar, David Mobio on keyboard, Manu Pelé on bass and Thomas Niamke Ehui on drums. Their repertory consists of original creations by Zal Sissokho and Manu Pelé as well as classic Mandinka pieces, which he sings in Mandinka and Wolof, a broad palette enabling tradition and modernity to cohabit. In 2007, some of his songs were included on the Nuits d’Afrique compilation disc, a promising foretaste of a full album that will not be long in coming.
In February 2008, Zal was recognized with the OQAJ-Rideau des Amériques award issued for the excellence of his performance, the generosity of his stage presence and the beauty of his musical blends. He brought out his much awaited first album in the wake of this. It is called Silaba (The Highway). This tribute to ancestors presents his invaluable musical heritage and goes back over the “highway” that Zal has taken since he got started in Senegal.
Zal Sissokho’s second album, Partage (Sharing), came out in 2012, again accompanied by the members of Buntalo as well as by outstanding collaborators such as Tapa Diarra, Fabrice Koffi and Karim Diouf. Sharing is the watchword of this generous and talented kora player.
Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars
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