Most bands that visit NPR headquarters for our Tiny Desk Concerts need to adjust their setup and sound to accommodate the setting's limitations. At the very least, the musicians have to cram into a ...

The history of the West African kora, a 21-string harp, goes back several hundred years — back to the days when Mande griots, hereditary musicians who tell the history of their people, played for the ...

Outrage poured in from around the world when news broke that a musician’s priceless instrument was destroyed by Transportation Security Administration officials in the United States. Ballaké Sissoko ...

Rhythm Planet Host Tom Schnabel joins us to preview an upcoming show featuring Malian kora virtuoso Ballaké Sissoko with French cellist Vincent Segal. (10am) Rhythm Planet Host Tom Schnabel joins us ...

Much like the surname “Smith” or “Jones” here in the U.S., the name “Cissoko” (also spelled “Sissoko”) is a common family name throughout the West African countries of Mali, Senegal,… For those of you ...

A meeting of instruments, not traditions. The dialogue between Ballaké Sissoko’s kora and Derek Gripper’s guitar is a summit of two master musicians at the peak of their craft. Despite coming from ...

Malian musician Ballaké Sissoko alleges his "cherished, custom-made kora" was "completely destroyed" on a flight this week "without any justification." The kora is a traditional West African ...

Ballaké Sissoko was happy to let the kora and the kamaicha do all the talking. The music maestro from Mali surprised himself and the audience at the Jodhpur RIFF last week when he joined Rajasthani ...

Given he plays an instrument that makes such serene and tranquil music, Ballaké Sissoko has encountered an awful lot of people hellbent on smashing his kora. First, there were the Islamic terrorists ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko has been on a constant quest for wider collaboration. He replaced his ...

The kora of renowned Malian musician Ballaké Sissoko was broken by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, the instrumentalist claims. The West African musician was traveling to Paris from ...

Expanding on the adage that less is more, Malian kora master Ballaké Sissoko and renowned French cellist Vincent Segal have taken an ascetic minimalistic approach on Musique De Nuit. This melding of ...