African ensemble updates traditional music of Mali

How to go

What: Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Kennedy Union Boll Theatre, University of Dayton

Cost: $20

More info: (937) 496-3863 or cityfolk.org

World music fans who like to tap their feet during a concert may be challenged to keep up with the complex layers of rhythm produced by the African ensemble Ngoni Ba, led by Mali native Bassekou Kouyate. They will perform on Wednesday in the Kennedy Union Boll Theatre at the University of Dayton, in a concert co-presented by Cityfolk and UD’s Arts Series.

The group’s 2010 album was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Traditional World Music Album. The title of the record, “I Speak Fula,” refers to the cross-cultural tolerance practiced by Kouyate. The population of Mali is comprised of many languages and ethnicities.

Although Kouyate is a member of the dominant Bamana ethnic group, he gladly plays music of the minority Fula people.

Kouyate is a master of the ngoni, a string instrument similar to a lute.

The band includes his wife, vocalist Amy Sacko, along with four relatives playing ngoni of different sizes.

“The ngoni’s use in traditional music of Africa tends to cover many social and religious events from birth to death,” said Lennard Moses, director of percussion and world music studies at Central State University.

Although his father was a celebrated ngoni player and his mother was a singer, Kouyate was initially not interested in a musical career. When he finally began to play ngoni, he brought some new ideas to an ancient tradition.

“The old guys always sat down when they played,” he said. But Kouyate attached a strap to his ngoni so he could stand up while playing, bringing more attention to the instrument and the musician.

“Bassekou Kouyate’s modernizing of the way this instrument is performed is very significant,” Moses said.

“This is one way for the history of the people and the performance practice of their culture to coexist.”

Besides updating the way the ngoni is played, Kouyate has also shared its distinctive sound with new audiences on concert tours throughout the world.

“We are a new generation now,” Kouyate said. “I can’t just do what my father did and my grandfather did.”

Adam Alonzo is a contributing writer for the Dayton Daily News. He can be reached by e-mail at music@adamalonzo.com.