We are delighted to welcome Bassekou Kouyate, JC Maillard, and Madalitso to our roster of artists. Having been a fan of Bassekou Kouyate's since his first performances in Seattle some years ago now, it is a great pleasure to be able to work with this maestro of the ngoni. An outstanding musician both in his own ensemble Ngoni Ba, and in collaboration with many other musicians, it is both an honor and a pleasure to represent Bassekou to North American audiences. His musicianship sits squarely in the pantheon of iconic Malian artists, and we are excited to present him in various projects as we move forward into this post-COVID world.
Likewise it is a great pleasure to work with JC Maillard. Thanks to an introduction via Lisa Stafford/Festival Internationale de Louisiane back in 2019, we have had numerous and wide-ranging conversations that reflect the broad interests of this stellar musician. JC's diverse skill set has allowed him to easily fit into numerous projects over the past 30 or so years (Angelique Kidjo, Toure Kunda, Lisa Fischer, Richard Bona), and that diversity certainly reflects the curiosity that is at the core of who he is as a musician. We are excited to collaborate with him on upcoming musical adventures!
And finally Madalitso.... what can we say? We fell in love with this duo upon seeing their showcase at WOMEX 2020, and have been fans ever since. Their music is so joyful and uplifting, it is simply irresistible, and we can't wait to share them with audiences in North America. Ironically they have just dropped a new single today, check it out here:
We are so pleased to welcome these artists to our musical family!