we are just under constructionAlieu Suso was one of the most known and best Koramaker..s from west africa.
known through many reports in many Books like :Sound of Mande from Eric Charry, or jalykunda picture book.
He died at the 26 of july 2007 what is a big mess for all koraplayers all over the world.
Alieu Suso build some of the best instruments i have seen in west Africa, his seaside shop is at the craft market in Bakau facing the Atlantic ocean. He is known as master kora maker.
Still the culture is alive in Bakau as his sons are building African instruments, play them and teach people how to play them. Unlike there father, they compose their own music and perform with their band, fusing hot senegalese Mbalax drumming with cool manding kora. The band create Afro-manding music for dancing and partying.
We are all responsible people in the Gambia, the cultural team are still responsible in making the instruments and teaching, performing at the hotals and patries.WHAT IS KORA?
A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge like a lute or guitar. The sound of a kora resembles that of a harp, though when played in the traditional style, it bears a closer resemblance to flamenco and delta blues guitar techniques. The player uses only the thumb and index finger of both hands to pluck the strings in polyrhythmic patterns (using the remaining fingers to hold the sticks either side of the strings and secure the instrument). Ostinato riffs ("Kumbeng") and improvised solo runs ("Biriminting") are played at the same time by skilled players.Master kora-maker Alieu Suso of The GambiaKora players have traditionally come from griot families (also from the Mandinka tribes) who are traditional historians, genealogists and storytellers who pass their skills on to their descendants. The instrument is played in Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and The Gambia. A traditional kora player is called a Jali, similar to a 'bard' or oral historian.Traditional koras feature 21 strings, eleven played by the left hand and ten by the right. Modern koras made in the Casamance region of southern Senegal sometimes feature additional bass strings, adding up to four strings to the traditional 21. Strings were traditionally made from thin strips of hide, for example antelope skin - now most strings are made from harp strings or nylon fishing line, sometimes plaited together to create thicker strings.By moving leather tuning rings up and down the neck, a kora player can retune the instrument into one of four seven-note scales. These scales are close in tuning to western Major, Minor and Lydian modes.[1]The Mandinka kora is a unique instrument with a harp-like appearance and a notched bridge similar to that of a lute or guitar. It sounds somewhat like a harp, but its intricate playing style can be closer to flamenco guitar.The first known reference to the kora comes from Mungo Park in his 1799 book, Travels in Interior Districts of Africa. He describes it as "a large harp with 18 strings."The kora's body is made from a calabash gourd cut in half and partially covered with cow skin. Traditionally, there are twenty-one playing strings plucked by the thumb and forefinger of each hand. The remaining fingers grip the two vertical hand posts. For strings, players use fishing line which provides a brilliant tone and is easily obtained in high quality at only in the Gambia at ALIEU SUSO SHOP BAKU THE GAMBIA....
Twenty-one anchor strings attach the playing strings to an iron ring bored through the base of the kora's hardwood neck. The player tunes the kora by moving the leather rings to achieve the appropriate tension on each string. Kora players use a variety of tunings.
The Gambia has more kora players than Mali, Guinea and Senegal.
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