Hama Sankare
The legend Hama Sankare accompanied the great Ali Farka Toure for decades. He was the calabash player, singer and songwriter for much of the amazing desert blues heard today. Since Toure’s death in 2006 Sankare has accompanied Afel Bocoum, Mamadou Kelly and many other of Mali’s greats. He is an experimentalist who searches for sounds from around the world and adapts his own music. Unsurpassed in influence.
Alpha Ousmane “Hama” Sankaré (aka Pedro) is a legend. He has anchored the bands of many great artists of Mali: Ali Farka Toure, Afel Bocoum, le Troupe Regionale de Niafunké, l’Orchestre de Gao, Songhoy Allstars, and Mamadou Kelly’s BanKaiNa. Hama’s percussion and vocals can be heard on many of Mali’s seminal recordings. He is the master of and defined the playing style of contemporary calabash percussion. He has toured the world. His influence is unchallenged, as composer, arranger and instrumentalist.
“Legend”
“as evocative as any amp-blasted
jukehouse sorcery”
“fascinating fusion of traditional Malian music and American blues”