Biography
Born in 1942 in Banjul, Gambia, Dembo Konte carries forward the legacy of his late father, Alhaji Bai Konte, whom many consider the foremost kora master of recent decades and the player most responsible for bringing the West African harp to global attention. Through his performances he sustains both longstanding family practices and the intricate tribal narratives preserved in the Konte repertoire of songs. Late-1980s tours across the UK with Kausu Kuyateh, born 4 January 1953 in Bounkiling, Casamance, Senegal, earned widespread praise and helped distance him from earlier critiques tied to his lineage; the pair have collaborated on multiple recordings. Among those efforts, Simbomba stands out for its inclusion of 3 Mustaphas 3 alongside Kuyateh, presenting an engaging set of duets and pieces rendered in the characteristic Casamance manner. In 1995 the duo joined balafon player Mawda Suso, a performer on the traditional wooden xylophone, for an appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival; the three later cut Jaliology under producer Hijaz Mustapha. Weekend Beatnik, the label run by Ian A. Anderson, issued Kairaba Jabi in 1998, drawing selected tracks from the pair’s first two albums—both now out of print—while adding the previously unavailable title song captured in 1994. That collection remains the clearest entry point to the unpolished yet inviting style of traditional kora music that Konte and Kuyateh cultivate.
Albums
