MAJOR MUSIC ARTISTS - MALI
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| Salif Keita |
DESCRIPTION: Salif Keita
ACTIVITY STATUS: Active
ACTIVITY PERIOD: 1973 - Current
MUSIC GENRE: Afro-Pop, World
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: MALI
RECORD COMPANIES / LABELS (Current & Past): Badmos, Celluloid, Mango, Island Records
OFFICIAL WEB SITE: http://www.salifkeita.net/en/
ABOUT HIM:
Born an albino African child into Mali’s ancient royal lineage, despite powerful parental oppostion Keita was set on a career in music. Gifted with a voice of enormous power, strength and versatility, he performed about the clubs in the Malian capital Bamako in the late 1960s, and in 1970 joined the legendary Rail Band (sometimes referred to an African Beatles) which performed a mix of African and western music in Bamako’s Railway Hotel. A few years later moving to Abidjan, the buzzing metropolitan city in neighbouring Cote D’Ivoire. There he and his band Les Ambassadeurs achieved fame for their high-energy fusion of styles including African, jazz and Caribbean music, which gave free range to Keita’s soaring voice. In 1978 his album Mandjou became a huge pan-African hit, and its title song had become an African standard. In the 1980s he moved to France where he became one of the stars of “world music”, and has since released a series of well-received albums.
By Larry Buttrose
VIDEO:
| Parent Category Page Links: | Music Artists / Outfits - Mali |
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