Kassé Mady Diabaté

Friday, April 1, 2016 | 12:00 pm

Baldwin Auditorium

Talking Music: A Conversation with Kassé Mady Diabaté

Duke Professor Laurent Dubois, a distinguished historian of the Black Atlantic and author of the recently released book The Banjo: America’s African Instrument, and Amadou Fofana, Visiting Fellow at Duke and a specialist on West African cinema and culture, join Kassé Mady Diabaté in conversation about the roots of Diabaté’s music in the griot tradition.

Singer Kassé Mady Diabaté is a descendant of the most distinguished griot family of the ancient Manding Empire, the Diabatés of Kéla. His name, alongside other griot legends Toumani Diabaté and Bassekou Kouyaté, signifies musical royalty in Mali. Over a five-decade career, Diabaté has brought his nuanced, stirring voice to a series of splendid recordings, including 2010’s GRAMMY-winning Afrocubism, and the collaborative record Kulanjan with Taj Mahal. Salif Keita calls him “the greatest singer in Mali.”

Friday, April 1, 12 – 1:15 PM
Forum for Scholars & Publics
011 Old Chemistry Building, Duke West Campus
Free & open to the public; a light lunch will be served for all attendees starting at 11:45 AM.

A part of Talking Music: Conversations with Scholars, Writers, Archivists, and Artists, co-sponsored by Duke Performances and the Forum for Scholars & Publics. This installment in the series is also co-sponsored by the Duke Africa Initiative.