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Very sad to hear Toumani Diabaté, master of the kora, has passed away from kidney failure. He was a magical musician and very entertaining character. Privileged that he performed several times with Africa Express. Always loved seeing him play - whether solo, with his Symmetric

youtube.com/watch?v=1aVdDf… youtube.com/watch?v=-NLHgE… youtube.com/watch?v=dTNRHE…

We learned with great sadness that our collaborator and friend Toumani Diabaté died in Bamako last night. He was only 58, or maybe 59. Whatever it was, he left too early. People called him the maestro, the undisputed king, the virtuoso without parallel of the kora (1)

He was all that, but he was also a man who knew instinctively what true virtuosity is all about: not showiness, but a grounded easy brilliance. When he played those ancient strings, the notes danced up into the air like a breath, a breeze, a smile.(2)

He had the assurance of a man born to play, which in his case was literally true. His father Sidiki Diabate brought the kora out of its West African closet, dusted it down, modernised the melodies and began to give it a global reach.(3)

Sidiki’s father in turn was also a kora virtuoso and traditional bard or griot, and his father before that and his father before that, going back centuries, deep into Manding history. All that ancestry flowed through Toumani’s fingers, and he gave it to the world…(4)

…collaborating with Björk, Danny Thompson, Damon, Taj Mahal, Bela Fleck, the London Symphony Orchestra. And with Africa Express too, hosting our unforgettable trip to Bamako, contributing to our gig at Koko in London and the Africa Now show at The Barbican. (5)

If the kora has become a global instrument, Toumani made it so, more than any other kora player past or present. Now, he’s gone to join all the others who made brilliance look easy: Miles, Monk, Hendrix, Oistrakh, Reinhardt et al.(6)

We’ll miss him, not just for that brilliance, but for genial presence, his openness to new ideas, his fearlessness. May the earth rest light on him (7)

‘The explosive collective Africa Express’ is thrilled to be playing #RoskildeFestival in July roskilde-festival.dk/en/news/charli…

Looking forward to FESTIVAL CRUÏLLA - come join us in Barcelona on July 11