Mamadou & Vanessa perform their lilting, uplifting music they describe as Mali blues, a blend of Wassoulou from Mali (music originally based on the rhythms of hunting ritual) with American blues, which is rooted in West African music. Their soulful, alluring sound has garnered several prestigious awards, including Best World Song at the Independent Music Awards (twice), the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and the Billboard Songwriting Contest. Last year they appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Tonight’s ensemble features Mamadou Sidibe singing and playing the kamal n’goni harp; Vanessa Sidibe singing and playing percussion; and a backing band of djembe drummer Karamba Diabate; Charles Dithrich on kamal n’goni, bass, guitar, and percussion; and Daniel Moreno on cajon, plus surprise guests from Mali and the Bay Area.

In the mid-1980s Mamadou Sidibe, a native of Mali’s Wassoulou region, played a groundbreaking role in transforming hunters’ sacred melodies – played on the six-string doso n’goni harp, accompanied by the djembe drum – into songs of love, politics, and daily life. Mamadou was one of the first to expand the harp’s range by adding two extra strings, creating the popular kamele n’goni; he has since expanded it to a 10- and 12-string version. He also plays the bolon (another harplike instrument with strings and a gourd resonator) and sings, with his wife Vanessa playing nkerenye and singing. Vanessa Sidibe, an accomplished Afro-Cuban and salsa musician, has studied and taught music here and in New York and has spent time in Cuba.

International kora star Karamo Susso brings his band to tonight’s celebration of Malian music. One of the best-known African performers to grace our stage, he has appeared in the past few years in numerous settings, from solo to such world fusions as the World Blues Band, Symphony of Koras, Soul Union, and the Manding Band. Susso was born in Gambia, raised in Mali, and is a singer and kora master. He grew up in a compound of griots, next door to Toumani Diabate. His uncle was Ballake Cissoko. Susso was playing kora and performing before he was big enough to hold the instrument. He has since gone on to perform with many of Africa’s top stars.

The kora, the 21-stringed harp lute of West Africa, originated in the ancient Kingdom of Mali more than one thousand years ago. Tradition tells that djinns brought it into this world and gave it to the griots: families whose place in the culture was to sing the epics of heroes and relate histories. The griots played kora and sang in court to praise the kings, and in the villages to carry news and to celebrate traditional ceremonies. The music is intricate, elegant, and potent. It is sweet while strong; percussive while lyrical, active while calm. Centuries of complex tradition are heard in it, as are simple truths.