Seckou Keita facts for kids
Seckou Keita (born February 14, 1978) is a talented musician from Senegal. He is famous for playing the kora, which is a unique African instrument that sounds a bit like a harp. Seckou is also a skilled drummer. He is known for keeping alive the special kora music from the Casamance area in southern Senegal.
Contents
Seckou Keita's Musical Journey
Early Life and Beginnings
Seckou Keita was born in Ziguinchor, Senegal. His family has a long history of music. His father's family, the Keitas, were kings in Mali. His mother's family, the Cissokhos, are griots. Griots are like storytellers and musicians who pass down history and traditions through songs.
Seckou started his international music career in 1996. His uncle, Solo Cissokho, helped him. They performed at the Forde Festival in Norway with musicians from Cuba, India, and Scandinavia.
Moving to the UK and Touring
After a few years, Seckou moved to the United Kingdom. He traveled a lot, playing music in Spain, France, Portugal, Greece, and the Czech Republic. He also performed at big music festivals like WOMAD and Glastonbury. He played by himself and with other famous musicians, including the Indian violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam.
Seckou became very good at playing the kora. He opened shows for famous singers like Salif Keita and Youssou N'Dour. He also had his own shows at places like London's The Jazz Café. In 2001, he was nominated for a special award from BBC Radio 3 for World Music.
Forming His Own Groups
In 2004, Seckou started the Seckou Keita Quartet. Later, his sister, Binta Susso, joined them as a singer, and they became the Seckou Keita Quintet.
Today, Seckou lives near Nottingham, England. He teaches drumming and kora workshops in schools and at festivals. He works with groups like Music For Change and WOMAD. He also helps a company called Sewa Beats teach people about rhythm and music.
How Seckou Changed Kora Music
New Kora Tunings
Seckou has made important changes to kora music. In 2002, he created his own special ways to tune the kora. He explained that there are four main traditional tunings, each from a different region. Seckou decided to put all these tunings together on one instrument. This made his kora sound different and allowed him to play many more types of music.
The Double-Necked Kora
In 2003, Seckou wanted to see how much more he could do with the kora. He asked his cousin, Aliou Gassama, to build him a kora with two necks! He uses this special double-necked kora for his concerts and some recordings.
Making Kora Music Easier to Learn
Traditionally, only griot families learned the kora by listening and practicing. Seckou wanted to make kora music available to more people, especially his own children growing up in the UK. He worked with Latin jazz pianist Alex Wilson to write down kora music.
In 2020, eight books of kora music were released. This music was changed so it could be played on instruments like the piano, flute, cello, violin, and clarinet. Before the books came out, musicians performed these new versions of kora music in January 2019.
Working with Other Artists
Musical Partnerships
Seckou Keita loves to work with other musicians from different backgrounds. People say that his collaborations make his African music even stronger. Seckou believes that music should be honest. He feels it's important to keep the true meaning of songs and melodies. He says that different music styles, like Cuban or Indian sounds, can mix with kora music without losing their special qualities.
In 1998, he joined the popular world music group Baka Beyond as a drummer. In 2000, he released his first solo album, Baiyo, which showed his musical journey from Africa to Europe and India.
Catrin Finch and Omar Sosa
In 2013, Seckou started playing with Welsh harpist Catrin Finch. Their concerts were a huge success. Their albums, Clychau Dibon (2013) and Soar (2018), won many awards. Seckou also started singing more on these albums. They continue to perform together, including at famous events like The Proms and the London Jazz Festival.
In 2012, Seckou met Omar Sosa, a famous Cuban jazz pianist. Their first album, Transparent Water, came out in 2017. Their second album, SUBA, was released on October 22, 2021. Critics called their music "beautiful" and "mesmerizing."
Other Exciting Projects
In 2019, Seckou joined the AKA Trio with Italian guitarist Antonio Forcione and Brazilian percussionist Adriano Adewale. Their album JOY was released in May 2019.
Also in 2019, Seckou was part of Spell Songs. This project brought together folk musicians, art, and text from a children's book called The Lost Words: A Spell Book.
In 2020, Seckou wanted to use his music to help with the COVID-19 pandemic. He asked other artists to join him, and they released a charity song called Now Or Never in July 2020. All the money from the song goes to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help people around the world.
Seckou has also been working more with other African artists. He released Elles Sont Toutes Belles with Senegalese singer Aida Samb in February 2021. He also released Homeland on June 21, 2021, which features the famous Senegalese singer Baaba Maal.
In April 2022, Seckou Keita was nominated for two Songlines Awards for his work with Omar Sosa and Spell Songs.
Awards and Achievements
Seckou Keita has won many awards for his amazing music:
- 1998: Special mention in the International Songwriting Competition.
- 2001: Nominated for the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards.
- 2010: His album Silimbo Passage was No.1 on the iTunes World Music Chart.
- 2012: His album Miro was No.1 on the European World Music Chart.
- 2013: Clychau Dibon won fRoots Critics Poll Album of the Year.
- 2014: Clychau Dibon was No.1 on the Amazon World Music Chart.
- 2014: Won Best Cross Cultural Collaboration with Catrin Finch from Songlines Magazine.
- 2016: His album 22 Strings won Best Album - Africa and Middle East Category - Songlines Music Awards.
- 2018: SOAR was Number one in the Transglobal World Music Charts.
- 2018: SOAR won Best Transregional Album and Best Fusion Album from Songlines Magazine.
- 2019: Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita won 'Best Duo/Band' at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
- 2019: Seckou Keita won 'Musician Of The Year' at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
- 2022: Nominated for Songlines Awards for Spell Songs and SUBA.
Music Albums and Songs
Albums
- 2000: Seckou Keita - Baiyo (Orphan) (also called Mali)
- 2001: EtE (Seckou Keita, Martin Cradick, Nii Tagoe) - EtE
- 2003: Jalikunda Cissokho - Lindianeafter
- 2006: Seckou Keita Quartet - Tama Silo: Afro Mandinka Soul
- 2008: Seckou Keita Quartet - Silimbo Passage
- 2012: Seckou Keita - Miro
- 2013: Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita - Clychau Dibon
- 2014: Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita - Gobiath
- 2015: Seckou Keita - 22 Strings
- 2017: Omar Sosa & Seckou Keita - Transparent Water
- 2018: Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita - SOAR
- 2019: AKA Trio - Joy
- 2021: Omar Sosa & Seckou Keita - SUBA
- 2023: Seckou Keita with BBC Concert Orchestra – African Rhapsodies
Singles (Individual Songs)
- 2020: Seckou Keita & Friends - Now or Never
- 2021: Seckou Keita featuring Aida Samb - Elles Sont Toutes Belles
- 2021: Seckou Keita featuring Baaba Maal - Homeland
Helping Others: Charitable Work
Seckou Keita is also involved in charity work. In November 2010, he started working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). He decided to give 50% of the money from his CD, The Silimbo Passage, for six months to help the ICRC. They protect and help people affected by war and violence. Seckou chose the ICRC because he remembered them helping people when he was a child in Casamance, an area that has had problems for many years. He said, "The International Red Cross sparks memories from my youth. I didn't know what they were about but I knew they were doing good things."
In August 2020, he asked musicians from all over the world to help create the charity song Now Or Never. This song supports the ICRC's efforts to help people during the coronavirus pandemic.
Personal Life
Seckou Keita moved to the UK in 1999. He currently lives in Sneinton, England.
Images for kids
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Seckou Keita performing at the Draig Beats festival in Wales, playing his special double-necked kora.
