الفنان المالي حبيب كوايتي

Quote: Habib comes from a noble line of Khassonké griots, traditional troubadors who provide wit, wisdom and musical entertainment at social gatherings and special events. Habib grew up surrounded by seventeen brothers and sisters, and developed his unique guitar style accompanying his griot mother. He inherited his passion for music from his paternal grandfather who played the kamele n'goni, a traditional four-stringed instrument associated with hunters from the Wassolou region of Mali. "Nobody really taught me to sing or to play the guitar," explains Habib, "I watched my parents, and it washed off on me."

Quote: Habib Koité From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Habib Koité Background information Born 1958 Mali (age 51) Occupations Musician, Songwriter Instruments Guitar, Vocals Years active 1995 - present Associated acts Bamada Habib Koité (b. 1958 in Mali) is an internationally-known Malian musician who sings and plays the guitar. His supporting cast, Bamada, is a super-group of West African talent, including Kélétigui Diabaté playing balafon.

Quote: Musical style Koité is known primarily for his unique approach to playing the guitar by tuning it on a pentatonic scale and playing on open strings as one would on a kamale n'goni. Other pieces of his music sound more like the blues or flamenco which are two styles he learned under Khalilou Traore. Koité's vocal style is intimate and relaxed, emphasizing calm, moody singing rather than operatic technical prowess. Members of Bamada play talking drum, guitar, bass, drum set, harmonica, violin, calabasa, and kora. Koité composes and arranges all songs, singing in English, French, and Bambara.

Quote: The West African country of Mali has produced some great musicians. But as they age, people have wondered who’ll step forward from the next generation. The big answer to that seems to be Habib Koité, who comes from the Khassonké griot tradition that’s the hereditary caste of musicians, but whose eyes are firmly on the future. Born in 1958, his lineage made music a part of his life, and it was in order to accompany his mother’s singing that he taught himself to play guitar, showing enough ability on the instrument that he was accepted at the National Institute of Arts (NIA) - remaining there four years after his graduation in 1982 to teach guitar. From his early days he hasn’t played just in the standard Western tuning, but also traditional Malian tunes to make his instrument mimic the traditional n’goni (a four-string lute) and kamele n’goni or young man’s harp, with six strings, giving a richness and native texture to his work. Being at NIA afforded him the opportunity to play with some of the country’s top musicians, including the likes of kora giant Toumani Diabaté. It wasn’t until he was 30 that Koité decided to form a band, Bamada, and they toured extensively throughout Mali, before heading to the Perpignan Voxpole Festival in France in 1991, where they took first prize. That brought them the chance to record two songs, one of which, “Cigarette A Bana” (“The Cigarette Is Finished”) became a hit across West Africa, to the extent that children would sing its chorus in the streets. That led to another single, “Nanale” (“The Swallow”) and the Discovery of 1993: Media-Adami Award by Radio France International. In the wake of that came Koité’s first album, Muso Ko, which topped the European World Music charts (released in the U.S. 1999 on Alula Records). While many Malian musicians interpreted the tradition, artists who used it as a springboard for their own writing were - and still are - rare. But Koité’s studies had grounded him in regional styles and rhythms, while his guitar work was strong, and often subtle, enough to take in the music and spit it out as something new and fresh. As he said, “My way to play traditional music is to adapt the sounds of the traditional instruments from Mali through my acoustic guitar.” By the time Ma Ya appeared - it became his first American release, early in 1999 - Koité had matured, both as a writer and a player. Socially conscious, his work had the natural infectiousness of good pop music, with the solid rhythmic and melodic base of Mali. The album, he stated was meant to be “a musical voyage through Mali. I give myself the freedom to move from one rhythm to another.” Like Koité, Bamada had also come a long way, offering imaginative, sympathetic backing to his material and voice, although there was no doubt who was the star of the show. In summer 2001 he released his third disc, Bora.

Quote: History Koité was born in 1958 to musical parents, from whom he learned instrumentation by watching and listening. He joined the Bamako National Institute of Arts and became a conductor in 1978 after only six months of playing. He graduated in 1982, and formed his band Bamada in 1988. The name "Bamada" is a nickname for residents of Mali's capital city Bamako, and the word roughly translates as "In the mouth of the crocodile." Other members of the band were friends of Koité's from childhood. One of Koité's best-known songs, "Cigarette Abana" (No more cigarettes), was first recorded in 1991. A new Latin-style version on his later CD Baro, along with the song "Nanalé", won Koite the Radio France International Discoveries Prize in 1992. After this recognition, Koité was able to launch his first tour outside of Africa in 1994. He met his manager the next year, and released his first album, Muso Ko which rose to #3 on the European World Music Charts. Two tracks from Muso Ko, I Ka Barra, and Din Din Wo were included with Microsoft Windows Vista, meaning that his music is pre-installed on millions of computers. His follow-up album, Ma Ya also did very well. Ma Ya was re-distributed through the Putumayo World Music label, increasing his exposure in the United States, and his next album, Baro, was distributed through them as well. Koité became one of Mali's most successful musicians internationally. He has performed and recorded with Eric Bibb and Bonnie Raitt, among other Western musicians. Raitt also invited Koité to record with her on her latest album Silver Lining. Many of his songs have been featured on various Putumayo compilations, such as Blues Around The World and Mali. Habib and Bamada were on stage at the African Roots and Shoots Festival at London's Barbican in 2000 and have also performed at many other international festivals. Later in 2000, Habib was part of the "Voices of Mali" tour in U.S. and Canada. In 2004 and again in 2005, Habib and the Band toured across the country to enthusiastic audiences. He played a single benefit performance in Providence, Rhode Island in December, 2005. Bamada is currently touring internationally in support of their latest album, Afriki.