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Lamine Konté
Born in 1942 in Bantagnima, a district of Marsassoum, Casamance, Senegal, Lamine Konté transformed the playing of the 21-string kora thanks to his ceaseless experimentations on this complex instrument. He also contributed to film scores including a collaboration with Stevie Wonder on The Secret Life of Plants soundtrack. This gifted musician and poet died in Paris on September 29th, 2007, aged 65. “Griots could be compared to needles that stitch together the different social tissues, and tighten the links between the families. Through them, we wake people from their torpor by reminding them of the great deeds of their families.” The words of Lamine Konté reflect the long griot lineage he and his family have in the Casamance. Soundioulou Cissokho, Lalo Keba Dramé and Bana Cissokho are just some of the names that the Kontés are associated with in the Sédhiou region of Senegal where Lamine grew up. Added to this spiritual heritage was the traditional way of playing the Mandingo kora, and Lamine’s uncle Sédhiou was the indisputed master of this venerated instrument.
Konté was initiated young to the kora. At the age of 21 he participated in the international festival of Mexico, his first foray abroad. By then he had founded the group Waatoo Siita with Ousmane Sow Huchard and André Lô. In 1971, he moved to Paris and became one of the first artists to practise what later was to be labelled “world music”. His open-minded curiosity allowed him to break out of the conservative heritage of his forefathers and reach a non-West African audience. In 1974, Konté and Waatoo Siita toured Quebec, where it became apparent that Konté was beginning to push back the limits of traditional kora playing and experiment with its range. This included adding strings, four in all. Back in Dakar he started collaborating with the capital’s Xalam II in 1979. Three years later, he went to Los Angeles with singing diva Aïcha Koné to record an album with the Ebony Band.
For the next decade the West African artist travelled tirelessly, bringing his Mandingo kora playing and outstanding voice to audiences in North America and Europe. In 1995 and 1996, he participated in the inaugural Printemps des Cordes festivals with his Lamine Konté Bunda group. His poetry was also beginning to spread and reflected his pursuit of peace and dialogue in his troubled homeland of the Casamance.
Lamine Konté’s art served to feed the up-and-coming generations of artists. He recorded several records that have become reference works on kora playing and its development since independence in Senegal. This included La Kora du Sénégal 1 and 2, as well as Griot Legend. Many of his compositions have become standards in the Mandingo repertoire of the Casamance. On September 29th, 2007, the master musician died of cancer in his adopted home city of Paris. He was buried on October 3rd.
October 2007
Daniel Brown
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