Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba in Timbuktu

Bassekou Kouyate and his band Ngoni Ba made one of the best received African albums of 2009. I Speak Fula, released in September followed the hugely successful 2007 Segu Blue album. Through his music, Bassekou and his band have breathed new life into Ngoni playing. The traditional string instrument made of wood or calabash with animal skin stretched across it was always played sitting down on stage. Bassekou and his band changed that, strapping the Ngonis over their shoulders li