This is the second time I have seen Mr Kouyate and his wife, Amy Sacko, at Howard Assembly Room and it could hardly have been a more different set. The last time they were backed by a quartet of musicians and the music was rocking, this evening it was just the two of them with the first half comprising African classical works, using only the ngoni, a small, four-stringed instrument which is like a cross between a mandolin and a ukulele, and the amazing voice of Ms Sacko. As the evening progressed, however, the pace picked up and we were all clapping, stomping and even singing in a language none of us understood!
The couple hail from Mali and speak French and Bambara. I mentioned in my review of the first gig that I am sure Mr Kouyate is more fluent in English than he makes out to be, but it gave him a chance to involve the audience in helping him translate. Regardless, all of the songs were in Bambara so it didn’t matter. The only problem is that I couldn’t make a note of their titles nor work it out from the lyrics, so this will be a fairly short article.
After the more intimate part of the evening, the mood changed to incorporate the blues, not American blues but the African variety, which was a lot like Delta Blues. On reflection, this is hardly surprising as Mali, the artists’ home country, is an ex-French colony and the area around the Mississippi delta was inhabited by French immigrants to USA, most famously in New Orleans. I now know the Bambara for ‘Woke up this morning’ to find my wife had run off with my best friend and my dog done got run over by a truck.’
He then shifted up a gear and turned on a backing track which emitted an almost Latin beat, in fact, as humour was very much in evidence, he threw in a few chords of La Bamba, just in case we hadn’t twigged.
Once again, I was witness to a master of his instrument and someone who can entertain an audience on many different levels. Should you not be familiar with West African music then I suggest you go see Bassekou Kouyate, whether with his band or pared back to this duo with his wife, if they come anywhere near your town.
The British leg of the tour runs until 24th May, 2026; for details please go to https://www.bassekou.com where you can find out more about them.
To see what else is coming to the fabulous Howard Assembly Room, it is https://www.operanorth.co.uk/event-tag/har
If you are interested in African Art, or even if you are not, The 2026 Leeds International African Arts Festival takes place at various venues around the City from 4th to 10th June. For a programme and to get tickets, please see https://liaaf.co.uk
Feature image from Opera North. Photographs by Stan Graham
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