Solo challenge #4: Bao Sissoko (kora, Senegal)

Bao Sissoko is acknowledged throughout Europe as a talented kora-player in the trio Tamala alongside Mola Sylla and Wouter Vandenabeele or in his duo with Malick Pathe Sow. Bao Sissoko is born in Senegal of mandinka origin, has been playing music since childhood. Surrounded by a family of griots, where his father also plays kora and his mother sings, he spontaneously follows in their footsteps. At the age of seven, his father, also a well-known kora player, taught him how to play the kora. He studied at the Music Conservatory in Dakar, which he completed successfully. He has toured widely in West Africa and played with great musicians such as Baaba Maal and Toumani Diabate. Since 2000, he has been living in Belgium, where he successfully continues his musical career. In 1995, Bao Sissoko came to Europe for the first time for a tour with Senegalese singer Abou Thiam of the group Ngaari Laaw. This was followed by a long list of tours (in almost all of Europe, Kenya, India, etc.) and participations in fe