Ballaké Sissoko

Ballaké Sissoko ranks among today’s foremost kora virtuosos from Mali, where his inventive approach to the instrument and his frequent partnerships beyond West African traditions have drawn widespread notice. International acclaim arrived through his work with fellow kora master Toumani Diabaté on the 1999 album New Ancient Strings, after which he spent the following two decades building cross-cultural projects with musicians from many regions. He belongs to the world music trio 3MA and has recorded multiple albums with cellist Vincent Ségal, among them the 2015 release Musique de Nuit. The 2021 album Djourou mixed rock, hip-hop, and classical elements, while 2023’s Les Egarés united him and Ségal with accordionist Vincent Peirani and saxophonist Émile Parisien; the pair then joined flutist Nicole Mitchell for 2024’s Bamako*Chicago Sound System.

Djelimady Sissoko, Ballaké’s father and a Gambian kora master who relocated to Mali and entered the national orchestra, passed away in 1981. Born in 1968, Ballaké had already begun studying the instrument in the griot lineage of his family, and at age thirteen he assumed his father’s seat in the Ensemble Instrumental National du Mali. Over the next twenty years he gained recognition as a performer and collaborator, launching his recording career alongside cousin Toumani Diabaté on New Ancient Strings. The solo album Déli followed in 2000 and included vocals from his wife, Mama Draba.

While residing in Paris, Sissoko’s openness to new partnerships produced Diario Mali with Italian classical pianist Ludovico Einaudi in 2003 and Tomora with singer Rokia Traoré in 2005, the latter again featuring Diabaté. He formed 3MA with Moroccan oud player Driss el Maloumi and Madagascan valiha player Rajery, releasing an album in 2008. The 2009 project Chamber Music marked the start of his sustained work with French cellist Vincent Ségal, who later produced the 2013 solo album At Peace; the duo reconvened for Musique de Nuit in 2015. Djourou, issued in April 2021, brought together an eclectic roster that included French pop singer Camille and Malian rapper Oxmo Puccino. During the same period Sissoko recorded A Touma alone, capturing eight solo kora pieces in a single afternoon and releasing the collection that September. Les Egarés, a four-way effort with Ségal, Peirani, and Parisien, explored jazz, chamber music, folk, and avant-garde textures and appeared in early 2023. He subsequently collaborated with Nicole Mitchell on Bamako*Chicago Sound System in 2024.