Renowned Mali musician Ballaké Sissoko claimed today that US Customs in New York "completely destroyed" his custom-made kora, the West African instrument with which he performs. "The kora is a fragile ...

This is an updated version of a story first published on Nov. 13, 2022. Described as a cross between a harp, a lute, and a guitar, the kora is part of a musical tradition that dates back to the ...

“How come we’ve never heard of this beautiful instrument until now?” This was posted by a first-year college student to my world music course discussion board recently. He voiced what many of his ...

Says Solo Cissokho, the internationally acclaimed Kora player He creates an entirely new world when he takes the center stage and plays his state of the art instrument Kora. He has taken the national ...

When Malian master musician Ballaké Sissoko opened the case to his kora, a traditional and delicate 21-string instrument, after an early February flight from New York to Paris, he was devastated by ...

When Ballake Sissoko, a renowned kora player from Mali, looked in his case at his Paris home after flying from New York, he found the instrument in pieces. By Maria Cramer A renowned Malian musician ...

When Kadialy Kouyate travelled to the United Kingdom he intended to be a student, but he ended up being the teacher. The Senegal-born musician teaches at the only university-led kora course in the ...

The hallowed tradition of kora playing in Sona Jobarteh’s family passed down the male line. One of her teachers dismissed it as “an ethnic thing.” But it has brought her international acclaim. By Aina ...

Described as a cross between a harp, a lute, and a guitar, the kora is part of a musical tradition that dates back to the 13th century Mali Empire, which stretched across much of West Africa. The ...

"How come we've never heard of this beautiful instrument until now?" This was posted by a first-year college student to my world music course discussion board recently. He voiced what many of his ...