Taabolo Koura

Description

Mah Damba returns with Taabolo Koura, an album of ten tracks that asserts her authority and marks the beginning of a four-decade career that has remained true to her roots. Born in 1965 into one of the most illustrious lineages of griots from Bamako, Mah Damba carries the weight and privilege of djeliya – the art of the griot – in everything she undertakes. Her father, the late Djeli Baba Sissoko, was the chief of the griots in the Bamako region, a man who spent decades broadcasting the epics of the Mandingue empire on national radio, accompanied by his ngoni. Her aunt, Fanta Damba, is among the most famous djelimousso in Mali.
It is on this foundation that Mah Damba relies. A foundation that has never wavered. Taabolo Koura comes after a career that has oscillated with the same conviction between ceremonies and stages. Since her move to France in 1983 with her late husband, the virtuoso of the n'goni Mamaye Kouyaté, Mah Damba has continued to play the role of griotte for the Malian community in exile, while building a rich discography of seven albums and collaborations with Mory Kanté, Kasse Mady Diabaté, Damon Albarn, and Matthieu Chedid. This new album deepens her musical collaboration with guitarist and arranger Thierry Fournel, who has been working with the Damba family for twenty years. Together, they have created an intimate and serene work: an acoustic architecture of guitar, djeli n'goni, accordion, calabash, and guembri that puts the voice in the service of the music rather than adorning it.
Mah Damba's instrument – deep, warm, and imbued with six decades of experience – remains the anchor point of each piece. The production is a family affair in the deepest sense of the term. Her nephew Badje Tounkara – an iconic figure of the djeli n'goni, sought after by Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, and many others – arranges the strings. Her son, Guimba Kouyaté, one of the most sought-after guitarists on the West African music scene, contributes on guitar. Her daughters and granddaughters sing the choruses. The accordion of Antoine Girard – an unusual presence in Malian music, but echoing Mah Damba's grandfather, Ousmane Soumano, who also played it – brings a rare harmonic color, while Fournel's guembri directs some pieces towards the hypnotic universe of Gnawa. Contributions from violinist Clément Janinet, balafonist Bakary Diarra, and percussionist Sebastian Quezada enrich the sound palette without altering its essence. The highlight of the album lies in the mixing by Jean Lamoot – whose work on Moffou and Mbemba by Salif Keita set a new standard for African acoustic recordings – which gives each piece warmth, breadth, and identity. Several generations of djéli musicians have joined their efforts to create this record. The result is eloquent.