Named by the BBC “best African artist of the year”, Bassekou Kouyaté is one of the true masters of the ngoni, an ancient African traditional lute. He has collaborated with many musicians in and outside of Mali, such as Ali Farka Toure, Toumani Diabate, Taj Mahal, Damon Alban, and Joachim Kühn. His band Ngoni ba includes Amy Sacko (vocals), Moustapha Kouyaté ( bass ngoni), Mahamadou Tounkara (dundun, yabara, tama) and Moctar Kouyaté (calebasse).