The new album by the veteran musician and his band Ngoni Ba conveys the restless march of time and the transience of all human conditions. Milo Miles calls it "the most satisfying sort of catchy." ...

Bassekou Kouyate knows exactly what his place is in this world, and he knows where he came from and where he wants to go. That existence is inseparable from the instrument he plays, the ngoni. It is ...

African music is on an unprecedented upward spiral in terms of popularity and global recognition. Each country within Africa is subdivided into local provinces and territories, each with their own ...

Bassekou Kouyate, the great ngoni player from Ségou, known for his pioneering ensemble of small West African lutes, responded to the onslaught from the desert north with an album that displays even ...

The ngoni, a narrow West African lute with a short decay but a loud punch to its plucked notes, often gets a few solo shots, but it’s rarely featured as part of an ngoni orchestra. But that’s the way ...