Cheick Hamala Diabaté
Encyclopedia
Cheick Hamala Diabate is a musician from Mali, West Africa who has been nominated for a Grammy award. Using Adelphi, Maryland as his home he travels all over the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, the United States Senate, and the Smithsonian Institution. Cheick Hamala was born into a griot family in Kita, Mali. From a young age he learned to play the ngoni, a stringed instrument related to the American banjo. In addition, Cheick has learned the history of Mali passed down for over 800 years.
Cheick has performed internationally.
and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
A steward of the 800-year-old tradition of the Griot, the storytellers of West Africa, Cheick Hamala shares the oral history, music and song of his culture as it was passed on to him from birth by parent to child. At an early age Cheick Hamala mastered the ngoni, a stringed lute
and ancestor to the banjo. He learned to play the guitar from his uncle, and now plays banjo and several other instruments; but his renown remains with the historical ngoni.
At age 12 he was invited to the National Institute of Arts in Bamako, Mali's Capital, where he studied music, graphic arts, cinema, literature and theatre. He began his international performing career upon graduation.
Cheick Hamala works with notable traditional African dance companies based in the U.S. as instructor, choreographer and performer. He also performs solo and with his ensemble, playing traditional Manding Griot instruments. His music always reflects the historical integrity of an important art form with a rich tradition stretching back hundreds of years to the formation of the Great Malian Empire. (courtsey of Mali Music.net)
Cheick has performed internationally.
History
Cheick Hamala Diabaté is recognized as one of the world's masters of the ngoni, a Malian traditional instrument and a West African historian in the Griot tradition. A sought-after performer, lecturer, storyteller and choreographer throughout Africa, Europe, Asia and Canada, Cheick Hamala began touring in the U.S. in 1995. He has performed at venues such as the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
A steward of the 800-year-old tradition of the Griot, the storytellers of West Africa, Cheick Hamala shares the oral history, music and song of his culture as it was passed on to him from birth by parent to child. At an early age Cheick Hamala mastered the ngoni, a stringed lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
and ancestor to the banjo. He learned to play the guitar from his uncle, and now plays banjo and several other instruments; but his renown remains with the historical ngoni.
At age 12 he was invited to the National Institute of Arts in Bamako, Mali's Capital, where he studied music, graphic arts, cinema, literature and theatre. He began his international performing career upon graduation.
Cheick Hamala works with notable traditional African dance companies based in the U.S. as instructor, choreographer and performer. He also performs solo and with his ensemble, playing traditional Manding Griot instruments. His music always reflects the historical integrity of an important art form with a rich tradition stretching back hundreds of years to the formation of the Great Malian Empire. (courtsey of Mali Music.net)
Awards
- GRAMMY nomination(2007): Best Traditional World Music Album- for "From Mali to America" by Cheick Hamala Diabate & Bob Carlin
Collaborations
- Salif KeitaSalif KeitaSalif Keïta is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita...
- Bela FleckBéla FleckBéla Anton Leoš Fleck is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.-Early life and career details:Fleck was born in...
- Corey HarrisCorey HarrisCorey Harris is an American blues and reggae musician, currently residing in Virginia. Along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acoustic guitar blues in the mid 1990s...
- Bob CarlinBob CarlinFor the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation member of the Ontario legislature see Robert CarlinBob Carlin is an American old-time banjo player and singer.Carlin performs primarily in the clawhammer style of banjo...
- Toumani DiabatéToumani DiabatéToumani Diabaté is a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styles.-Biography:...
- Chopteeth Afrofunk Big Band
- Ami Koita
- Kandia KouyateKandia KouyatéKandia Kouyaté is a Malian jelimuso and kora player; she has earned the prestigious title of ngara, and is sometimes appellated La dangereuse and La grande vedette malienne...
- Yayi Kanoute
- Fanta Disco
- Fadiala Diawara
Albums
- "Ake Doni Doni" (2009)
- "From Mali to America" w/ Bob Carlin (2007)
- "Kèlè Manyi Dé" (2006)
Literary Mentions
- "In Griot Time," by Banning Eyre (p. 105)
- "Griots and Griottes: Masters of Words and Music," by Thomas A. Hale
See also
- MaliMaliMali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
- griotGriotA griot or jeli is a West African storyteller. The griot delivers history as a poet, praise singer, and wandering musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition. As such, they are sometimes also called bards...
- ngoni
- banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...