Djelimady Tounkara

Djelimady Tounkara was suggested to me by one of my followers, so I decided to listen to samples of his music and see what I thought of him. I decided to feature him not just because he plays the guitar but also because I like the way he seems to combine flamenco music with these African rhythms.

As a Malian musician, he's one of the most popular guitarists in Africa. Nevertheless he grew up playing the djembe drum and the ngoni (a banjo-like lute). He originally went to his capital city of Bamako to become a tailor but he found that his strength was in music. He began playing in the large government-sponsored band of Orchestre Masira, he was then chosen to join the Orchestre National as a rhythm guitarist, after being voted the best guitarist in the Orchestre Masira. Tounkara has transformed many ancestral traditions into dance pop music but he has also helped to create more traditional music.

If you'd like to listen to more samples of his music, here are the links to his mp3 albums on Amazon: Sigui and Solon Kôno.