Karamo Susso

Name: Karamo Susso
Start: 2024-08-03T20:00:00-07:00
Location: Ashkenaz

Schedule

Sat Aug 03 2024 at 08:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Ashkenaz | Berkeley, CA

Doors at 7:30
Show at 8:00 PM

International kora star Karamo Susso celebrates Malian music. One of the best-known African performers to grace our stage, he has appeared in the past few years in numerous settings, contributing his unique spirit, from solo to such world fusions as the World Blues Band, Symphony of Koras, Soul Union, and the Manding Band. Susso was born in Gambia, raised in Mali, and is a singer and kora master.
He grew up in a compound of griots, next door to Toumani Diabate. His uncle was Ballake Cissoko. Susso played kora and performed before he was big enough to hold the instrument. He has since gone on to perform with many of Africa’s top stars and American musicians including Taj Mahal.
The kora, the 21-stringed harp lute of West Africa, originated in the ancient Kingdom of Mali more than a thousand years ago. Tradition tells that djinns brought it into this world and gave it to the griots: families whose place in the culture was to sing the epics of heroes and relate histories. The griots played kora and sang in court to praise the kings, and in the villages to carry news and to celebrate traditional ceremonies.
The music is intricate, elegant, and potent. It is sweet while strong, percussive while lyrical, active while calm. Centuries of complex tradition are heard in it, as are simple truths.