Mali’s greatest guitarist plays Sussex dates

The seven-date tour in which Habib will showcase his latest album is presented by African Night Fever.

Dates are November 25, Ropetackle Arts Centre; November 26, Afrikàba Festival, Hastings; and November 28, Chidham Village Hall.

Spokeswoman Hannah Collisson said: “Habib has performed more than 1,500 concerts around the world in a career spanning four decades, enjoyed international recognition particularly in the US where he counts Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Eric Bibb and Jenny Lewis among his fans and collaborators. But it’s his enduring fascination with Mali’s rich musical traditions and instrumentation, while embracing a variety of musical styles including blues, flamenco and Afro-Cuban, that is central to his continued success.

“Born into a family of musicians and griots (traditional troubadours), music, storytelling and performance are in his blood. Habib studied and taught classical guitar, and over many years has evolved his signature finger-picking technique which produces a sound resembling that of traditional West African instruments such as the kamale n'goni and kora. These sounds permeate his most recent album Kharifa, recorded in Bamako in 2019 with guests including the legendary Toumani Diabaté on kora, revered guitarist Seckou Bembeya Diabaté, also known as Diamond Fingers, and Habib’s son producer C T (Cheick Tidiane Koité). The extensive tour planned for 2020 was pushed back as a result of the pandemic. The meaning of the title Kharifa is akin to ‘something that has been entrusted to us’ and with this Habib refers to his homeland Mali; the album is a call to remain united and to preserve the land, the unity of the people and their rich cultural heritage in the face of political and social tensions.

" Habib Koité and his band Bamada will be supported by Gambian kora masters Sura Susso and Jally Kebba Susso, each prodigious talents in their own right, from the same family of griots. Together they complete an evening of captivating West African sounds. For 19 years, African Night Fever has been bringing the music of Africa and its diaspora to live audiences throughout the UK, and now globally via its online concert series, Africa in the Lounge.”

Habib Koité said: “The moment when I go on stage in front of an audience gives me the greatest pleasure I can have in my life. When I see them enjoying, listening, being curious about what I’m singing or playing with the guitar, with my band, it touches me a lot.”

Ebou Touray, director of African Night Fever, said: “We all need an uplifting moment in our lives after what we have been through in the last two years, and it couldn't be any better than to have the joyous melodies and rhythms of West Africa live on stage.”