STEVE ANDREW enjoys an account of the many communities that flourished independently of and in resistance to the empires of old
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Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni ba
Subterranea, London
WITH THE demeanour of complete paternal authority over proceedings, Bassekou Kouyate cuts the figure of a tribal elder centre stage — until his wife Amy Sacko sings. The audience gasps at her vocal range and crystalline delivery across ascending scales.
She's very much a focus of this family line-up, with Kouyate's son Madou on bass, Abou Sissoko on medium ngoni, Moctar Kouyate on calabash and Mahamadou Tounkara — the clown in the outfit — on doundoun, yabara and tama.
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