Ballaké Sissoko

Following a period of training with his maternal grandfather, Cherifou Sissoko, also a kora player, Ballaké joined the Ensemble Instrumental National du Mali at the age of 13. He went on to perfect his technique alongside the great masters: Sidiki Diabaté (father of Toumani Diabaté), N’Fa Diabaté, and Batrou Sékou Kouyaté. In 1991, at the age of 23, he left the Ensemble Instrumental to accompany Kandia Kouyaté, one of Mali’s most iconic griot singers. Offering an innovative approach to the kora, he quickly became the most sought-after instrumentalist of the first generation of great female griots. In 1997, he recorded his first album under his own name, titled Kora Music from Mali, followed by a second eponymous album in 1998. In 1999, he released the album Nouvelles Cordes Anciennes with Toumani Diabaté on the Hannibal label. That same year, Ballaké made a notable appearance at the Festival des Musiques Métisses d’Angoulême and, the following year, signed with Label Bleu for the album Deli, which marked the launch of his solo career. Ballaké subsequently pursued numerous musical collaborations with the likes of Ross Daly, Keyvan Chemirani, and Ludovico Einaudi. In 2005, his second album for Label Bleu, Tomora, established him as one of the most promising kora virtuosos of the new generation. His collaboration with Vincent Ségal began in 2009 with the recording of the album Chamber Music and continued with Musique de Nuit, released in 2015.