ArtistInfo

Djeli Moussa Diawara

voc, g, *1962 GN
World and Folk
A.k.a. Jali Musa Jawara

Djeli Moussa Diawara (also known as Jali Musa Jawara) is born in a family of griots. His father was a balafon player, and his mother a singer. His half-brother, they share the same mother, is Mory Kanté. He then became a « jali » or « djeli », mandingo word for griot. He learned to play the Balafon, the Kora and the guitar. At 18, he's in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire where he plays with his half-brother who's leaving the legendary Rail Band. Starting his solo carrier, he works with Djenne Doumbia, a great singer who'll later join Salif Keita's group. In 1983, his first LP Yasimika is recorded. It's still nowadays considered a great piece of African music. Then, he leaves for Paris. His Flamenkora album is published in 1998, offering a rich blend of styles, from his Mandingo roots to Flamenco. In 2000, Djeli Moussa records "Ocean Blues - from Africa to Hawaï" with Bob Brozman, that gets good reviews. Since then, he founded Kora Jazz Trio, with Abdoulaye Diabaté (piano) and Moussa Cissoko (drums). He's the composer of most of the tracks where he sings. Of course, he plays the Kora and sometimes the guitar, on the 3 albums released so far (Part I, II & III). Singer et musician, Djeli Moussa developed a very intimate relationship with his 32-stringed Kora, which is unique and was adapted at his request from the 21-stringed traditional Kora. He's able to adapt to many different rhythms from traditional Mandingo to Salsa, Flamenco, Blues and Jazz. He has worked with many internationally acclaimed artists like Ali Farka Touré, Carlos Santana, Manu Dibango, Janice deRosa, Stephan Eicher, Cheick Tidiane Seck...

Instruments

• Vocals
• Guitar

Genres

• World
• Folk
• Jazz
• Blues

Plays With