Artist Toumani Diabaté

Raised by a family of outstanding kora players, Toumani Diabaté blends flamenco, jazz, blues, and even Indian classical music together with his ancestors' traditional afro-beat, ultimately creating a style of Malian kora music that’s distinctly his. Diabaté has collaborated with a slew of artists innovating in their own fields, including Béla Fleck, Taj Mahal, and Björk, who featured him on her on 2007 album, Volta. Earlier this year, Diabaté was tapped by Simpsons creator Matt Groening to play his curated edition of All Tomorrow’s Parties in the U.K. His latest record, Ali And Toumani, is a collaboration with his friend and fellow Malian, the late Ali Farka Touré, and is already being called one of the best world music albums of 2010.

Updated 08/04/2010