Aly Keita

Aly Keita

Biography

Aly Keita was born to Malian parents in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He hails from a Malinké family of griots, the traditional keepers of history and stories in West Africa. He spent his childhood in Mali, where he learned to play the traditional pentatonic balafon – the African instrument similar to a xylophone, which incorporates hollow gourds that resonate with sound. In Abidjan in the mid-1980s, George Makinko introduced him to jazz. Keita developed his own diatonic balafon, which opened new musical pathways for him, including several with internationally renowned artists such as Pharoah Sanders, Paco Séry, and Omar Sosa.

He appeared in Cologne in May 2014 at the Philharmonie as part of the “Acht Brücken Festival”, and as the “Trio Ivoire” with jazz pianist Hans Lüdemann and percussionist Christian Thomé. Today, Aly Keita is invited to perform solo concerts throughout the international jazz and world music scene across Africa, Europe, the USA, and Asia. His last CD, “Akwaba Inisene”, hit the Top 20 on the World Music charts. 

Filmography

Cartoon-Ausstellung (Vernissage) : Guest