This instrument also the balafon, which is an African marimba, and also the ngoni which is a five string West African lute.

The 21-string kora is West Africa’s traditional harp lute. It is part of West African musical history in Senegal, Guinea, Mali, and other countries. It is a beautiful hand-crafted instrument: a large ...

This is an updated version of a story first published on Nov. 13, 2022. Described as a cross between a harp, a lute, and a guitar, the kora is part of a musical tradition that dates back to the ...

Bassekou Kouyate is a virtuoso of the African lute called the ngoni. His groundbreaking technique has made him a legend at age 44 in his native Mali. These days, Kouyate fronts the group Ngoni Ba, ...

There were no Western instruments onstage when the Malian griot Bassekou Kouyate and his band, Ngoni Ba, performed at SummerStage in Central Park on Sunday afternoon. Ngoni Ba is a string band four ...

Described as a cross between a harp, a lute, and a guitar, the kora is part of a musical tradition that dates back to the 13th century Mali Empire, which stretched across much of West Africa. The ...