Described as the “Jimi Hendrix of the kora,” Toumani Diabaté is an ardent experimentalist, enriching his intimate sound with the Symmetric Orchestra’s powerful, multilayered grooves. Diabaté is a master of the kora—the 21-string harp unique to Africa. The Symmetric Orchestra, Diabaté’s terrific pan-African band, includes musicians from Senegal, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Mali. All contribute to a buoyantly jubilant sound that will rock the Fine Arts Center. Join in the party spirit! Funded in part by the Expeditions program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the American Masterpieces initiative, with additional support from the six New England state arts agencies.
Music Samples
Thursday, April 23
Concert Hall 7:30 pm
$30, $25, $15; Five College Students and Youth 17 and under $15
Just Amazing! The rythmn, the sound, you couldn’t possibly sit still!
and the kora instrument lesson near the end was delightful
show was great Toumani is a great band leader and his bandmates are great musician. It was great combo of meditative music and dancing groove. I want it the show to go on. It was too short!
Wonderful concert! The musicians created a joyful and reflective atmosphere. And Diabate did a great job of presenting his instrument and the music! Bring them back soon!
The show was wonderful. My only regret was that I wasn’t closer to the musicians to get a better look at them and their instruments. The variety of different rhythms was excellent and the encore piece incredible. I loved that people felt free to get up and dance.
Great show! the time flew, and I wished when it was over that it could have just been intermission with a second set to come…. Wonderful show!
The Earth Day drumming circle the day before the concert was a great warm-up for the actual concert. The pre-concert talk helped to explain African musical traditions. The concert itself was a combination of beautiful meditative music as well as more lively rhythms that made me want to move.
The Earth Day celebration drum circle was a nice way to offset a dreary day. The pre-concert lecture helped to put the music and perfomance in a cultural context for me. The concert really rocked the house! But best of all was when Toumani started the encore with his quiet meditative kora solo which highlighted how he used his four fingers to do the rhythm, melody and improvisations.
I had never heard Toumani before, but took a chance on the basis of your write-up. I was captured from the first note/verse. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t understand a word, since the singers were charismatic, and I could find meaning in other ways. Plus the sound was so unique to me with the fusion of traditional and modern styles and instruments–maybe we got a taste of it back when Paul Simon did his Graceland album. I am still excited about the experience, and am glad I took the chance!
Loved the music and the way each musician’s personality was allowed to shine through. The meeting of traditional and modern instruments really worked – though the amplification was (as usual at the FAC, in my experience) overblown and distorted the sound of some of the ensemble pieces. A brief indication of the subject matter in the songs would have been nice: the singers were obviously telling stories and I wished I could have understood… Would have liked to have heard more kora solos though. In the publicity so much emphasis is placed in Diabate’s kora playing that I was a little frustrated that he didn’t give himself more solos. His encore was a magical moment.
Pure joy. I couldn’t sit still in my seat. La La La is still going through my mind.
The show was very energetic, musical and amazing. I honestly could not keep still in my seat. I would definitely love to attend another performance. The music was very rich and cultural!
Since I first heard the Kora in Montreal (Ballaké Sissoko) several years ago one word which always comes to mind is Joyous. From several of the previous replies here it seems I am not alone in this impression. I have seen Toumani’s cousin Mamadou performing more traditional (non-electric) as well as his cousin (present at the show) the Balophon player and his son the young boy playing drum in the oncore (who is the next generation coming up). So it seems that this is like an extended family afair which I have fortunately come across. There is such a sincere happiness in the performances and apparent joy in sharing their tradition with us. As a stringed instrument maker I am very intriged in the tonal quality of the Kora and was especially impressed by the contrasting tone of the n’goni, which I had not the pleasure of hearing before this performance. I am curious to not only hear more of this music but also learn more concerning the construction of these instruments and how they may influence my work.