Trio Da Kali

Rooted in Mali’s Mandé (mandingue) tradition, Trio Da Kali brings together three musicians from prominent griot families who have taken a vocal and instrumental art long associated with ceremonies and lineage narratives onto international stages. The trio comprises singer Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté, heir to the repertoire of her father Kassé Mady Diabaté; balafon player Fodé Lassana Diabaté, who has performed with Toumani Diabaté; and bass ngoni player Mamadou Kouyaté, son of Bassekou Kouyaté. Together, Trio Da Kali develops an acoustic aesthetic centered on the voice, where balafon lines, ngoni ostinatos and a pronounced use of silence establish slow, meditative atmospheres informed both by the structures of Mandé praise songs and by affinities with the blues and certain spirituals. First noticed in the 2010s on the world-music circuits of Europe and North America, Trio Da Kali has pursued numerous cross-genre collaborations, notably with the Kronos Quartet on the album "Ladilikan" (2017, World Circuit), which intersects Mandé repertoire with gospel heritage. The name Trio Da Kali, often translated as “to swear an oath,” reflects a desire to reactivate older forms of the griot heritage while placing them in contemporary creative contexts.