Zakir Hussain & Rakesh Chaurasia at ICE Kraków 08.07.2015

Thanks to my friend Alex for the tip on this 2015 live set featuring Zakir Hussain on tabla, percussion instruments and Rakesh Chaurasia playing bansouri.

The video’s page gives the following info:

“ZAKIR HUSSAIN is undoubtedly one of the greatest legends of world music, virtuoso of the tabla, and artist who tours and records with many other acclaimed musicians, including those form the world of jazz. His father was the famous musician Ustad Alla Rakha. Thanks to his father, Zakir learned to play musical instruments from his youngest days. He started performing as a teenager, and when he was 19 years old, he travelled to the US for the first time, appearing alongside Ravi Shankar. Audiences remember Hussain’s acclaimed albums, especially “Making Music” recorded for the famous ECM label. It is regarded as one of the finest musical fusions of the East and the West. Hussain was accompanied by John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek and the legendary Hariprasad Chaurasia – uncle of Rakesh, who joins Hussain in Kraków. Hussain has worked with McLaughlin many times, for example when creating recordings with his groups Shakti and Remember Shakti. He also worked alongside Bill Laswell, leading the group Tabla Beat Science bringing together acclaimed tablists and percussionists. He has also co-created the outstanding projects Planete Drum and Global Drum, and worked with some of the greatest musicians of all time, from George Harrison and Van Morrison to Pharoah Sanders and Charles Lloyd. He is a living legend himself.

RAKESH CHAURASIA is more than just a nephew of Hariprasad Chaurasia – he is also one of his most talented pupils. He plays the bansouri, a traditional South Asian bamboo flute. He has worked with musicians including Talvin Singh, participated in recording dozens of albums, and he leads the RAF ensemble – Rakesh and Friends. Recorded at ICE Kraków 08.07.2015.”

• Visit Zakir Hussain’s official website

• Follow Zakir Hussain on Facebook

• Purchase Zakir Hussain’s music at Amazon

• Listen to “Raga Kedar: Gat In Ektaal” by Pandit Shivkumar Sharma & Ustad Zakir Hussain on Episode 17 of the Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Superhsow.

• Visit Rakesh Chaurasia’s official website

• Follow Rakesh Chaurasia at Facebook

• Purchase Rakesh Chaurasia’s music at Amazon

Baba Sissoko: Amadran

Baba Sissoko’s Facebook page simply says:

“Born in Bamako (Mali), Baba Sissoko is the undisputed master of tamani (the original talking drum).”

Sissoko’s official website adds:

“Born in Bamako (Mali), Baba Sissoko is the undisputed master of tamani (the original talking drum), that he started to play since he was a child (thanks to the teaching of his grand-father Djeli Baba Sissoko and Djeli Maka Sissoko and Djatourou Sissoko) and from which he is able to extract all the notes simply with a one, natural movement. Baba Sissoko plays also ngoni, kamalengoni, guitar, balaphon, calebasse, Hang and… he sings!”

Sissoko recently released his new solo album Amadran and I’ve really enjoyed it. Minimal accompaniment lets the songs shine. Sissoko says of the album:

«I dedicate this album to my family, all the Sissokos in the world!
There is just one Sissoko family, wherever you are (Mali, Senegal, Gambia or Guinea), if your name is
Sissoko, you are part of the same family, because we are all descendants of Fakoli!
Fakoli was a prince and one of the founders of the Mandinka Empire. He was a man of his word, who was
very involved in the social scene. As a legacy, he passed down to us all of his energy and force. As his
descendants, we all received a piece of him. My family received culture, tradition and music!
My grandparents who were also my best buddies, Djeli Djatourou Sissoko, Djeli Makan Sissoko, Djeli Baba
Sissoko, had all lived with the energy and force of Fakoli, humanly, culturally and musically speaking.
I had the chance to know all of my grandparents and I learned a lot with them at the beginning of my
childhood. I grew up with my father Djeli Madou Sissoko, a great Ngoni player; my mother Djeli Mah
Damba Koroba, traditional singer; and with my uncle Mama Sissoko, a great Ngoni and guitar player, who
completed my training and showed me the way to my mission. My family left me a baggage full of songs
and I can live anywhere in the world with my musical experience.
In our family we start to play music with the Tama, and then we learn how to play the Ngoni. The Tama and
Ngoni are all instruments of the Sissoko family and belonged to us even before the birth of the Mandinka
Empire.
For me, this album is a journey, a souvenir…it’s life! This album comes from my heart and I recorded it
with all the love and respect that I have for my family because I learned from them that the most beautiful
things are the simplest ones.
This music and album are timeless.»

Baba Sissoko

Watch the video for the title track.

Watch the video for ‘Baba Ka Foli’.

• Visit Baba Sissoko’s official website.

• Follow Baba Sissoko at Facebook.

• Follow Baba Sissoko at Twitter.

• Support Baba Sissoko at Bandcamp.

• Purchase Baba Sissoko’s music at Amazon.