Prince Diabate
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Bio
VERSION FRANCAISE VOIR LE SITE WEB
www.princediabate.com
BACKGROUND
Prince Diabate hails from a prominent Malinke family from Guinea, West Africa. He learned his art from his father, Djeli Sory Diabate. Breaking with tradition his father also taught Prince's mother, Djeli Sira Cissoko, to play kora and the young boy became an exceptionally early starter by accompanying his parents to their concerts throughout West Africa.
After graduating from music school in Guinea aged 16, Prince left for Abidjan, Ivory Coast. One day he stumbled upon a videocassette of Jimi Hendrix and, inspired by what he heard, entered an international kora competition. Taking first prize he became known from that day as "Prince Diabate, Prince of the Kora."
In 1986 he met the singer, Amara Sanoh, and the two started to perform together. In 1990 they won the "Decouvertes" Award sponsored by Radio France Internationale. After 12 successful years on the international festival circuit touring in Africa, Europe, Canada & the USA, the duo disbanded and Prince Diabate settled in Los Angeles. He has recorded 4 studio albums: Lamaranaa in Paris 1993, NEW LIFE in Los Angeles & New York 2001, and DJERELON recorded in Guinea 2006 and produced by the late Kante Manfila, longtime collaborator of Salif Keita. The latest album, MY MUSIC, was released in October 2022 and is available on all major platforms.
Considered to be one of the leading kora players of his generation, Prince Diabate brings not only total mastery over his ancestral tradition, but a commitment to renew it through fresh ideas and exchanges with musicians from many cultures. His years in the USA produced collaborations with artists and groups as diverse as The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Adam del Monte (Flamenco), Paul Livingstone (sitar) , Grammy winner Ozomatli (Hip-Hop/Latin rock) and Grammy nominee, Michael Brook. The musically adventurous griot has incorporated reggae, rap and blues into his work and, further developing his "Jimi Hendrix" technique, was the first kora player to punctuate his work by the occasional, funky use of the wah-wah pedal. Now he has adapted the music of the Wassolou to his repertoire, which he plays, self-taught on the kamelen n'goni. The result is entirely his own creation: a fresh, powerful brand of twenty-first century Manden music, which remains strongly rooted in traditional codes and references.
NEW ACOUSTIC DUO
These days Prince Diabate divides his time between France, the USA and Guinea. In 2021 he formed an acoustic duo in France with the guitarist, Edouard Chaize, and they are often on the road performing together.
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SCHOOL, GUINEA
At the end of 2013 the Prince Diabate Music Academy was officially launched in Guinea. This new academy, the first privately-funded establishment in Guinea, is the result of Prince Diabate's desire to create an international music school specializing in stringed instruments and traditional flute. Construction is still underway and thanks to the encouragement of government ministers in Guinea and the generosity of private donors an official opening is scheduled for early 2024.
DISCOGRAPHY
- "Lamaranaa" (Buda MusiqueAllegro) 1993
- "New Life" (Sunrise Records/Orchard) 2001
- "Djerelon" (Kora Company Collection/ CD Baby) 2006
- "My Music" (Kora Company Collection) 2022
Duo Bio
DUO DESCRIPTION
See PDF for print version with photo
English Version
PRINCE DIABATE & EDOUARD CHAIZE DIABATE
ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC DUO: KORA, N'GONI GROOVE, ROOTS & FUSION
INTRODUCTION
Prince Diabate and Edouard Chaize Diabate, two prodigious talents from different continents, invite us along as they embark on a captivating journey combining traditional and contemporary rhythms based on Prince's Manden musical roots. To this they layer in textures from the Fouta and Pulaar regions of Guinea and Northern Mali along with Flamenco, Reggae and Cuban influences. They also punctuate their performance with brief explanations of the history and significance of the music, plus descriptions of the instruments.
PRINCE DIABATE: KORA, KAMELEN N'GONI, VOCALS
Prince Diabate hails from a prominent Malinke family from Guinea, West Africa. He learned his art from his father, Djeli Sory Diabate. Breaking with tradition, Djeli Sory also taught Prince's mother to play kora and the young boy became an exceptionally early starter by accompanying his parents to their concerts throughout West Africa. At the age of nine he caught the attention of the former President of Guinea, the late Ahmed Sekou Toure, who enrolled him into the national music school.
Considered to be one of the leading kora players of his generation, Prince Diabate brings not only total mastery over his ancestral tradition, but a commitment to renew it through fresh ideas and exchanges with musicians from many cultures. His years in the USA have produced collaborations with artists and groups as diverse as The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Adam del Monte (Flamenco), Paul Livingstone (sitar) and Grammy winners Ozomatli (Hip-Hop/Latin rock.) The musically adventurous griot has incorporated reggae, rap and blues into his work and lately has adapted the music of the Wassolou people to his repertoire, which he plays self-taught on the kamelen n'goni. The result is entirely his own creation: a fresh, powerful brand of twenty-first century Manden music, which remains strongly rooted in traditional codes and references. Currently based in France, he has produced three studio albums with a fourth, entitled MY MUSIC, released in October, 2022.
EDOUARD CHAIZE DIABATE: GUITARS, VOCALS
Edouard Chaize Diabate is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and occasional poet from Toulouse, France. A Jazz graduate from the Music' Halle school in Toulouse, Edouard's travels have taken him to India, South America, Cuba, Reunion and West Africa. Profoundly curious about the world he has explored traditional and contemporary global rhythms, delighting in their complexity and the challenges they present. His professional collaboration with his "brother" Prince Diabate, sustained over eight years, has led to a true friendship as they traverse new musical frontiers together. Every year he accompanies Prince Diabate to Guinea to further develop his guitar skills and to help him with the construction of his international music school, The Prince Diabate Music Academy.
Further Information/Booking France
Djamila Lebdiri
email: djamila.15emeart@gmail.com
Tel: +33(0)671.78.36.21
Management Worldwide
Linda Bawden Allen
email info@princediabate.com
Tel: +33 (0) 634 95.94.59 (France)
Past Shows
PERFORMANCE HISTORY (Partial Listing)
L'HISTORIQUE DES PERFORMANCES (En Bref)
EVENTS
Festival Nuits d'Afrique
07/14/24, 8:00 PM
Theatre Le Gesu, Montreal, Canada "La Nuit de la Kora"
Details TBA
Concert Toulouse
08/29/24, 8:00 PM
Trio Kenkeliba. Details TBA
Concert Toulouse
08/30/24, 8:00 PM
Trio Kenkeliba. Details TBA
Concert/Lecture
09/17/24, 12:00 PM
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Details TBA
Concert/Lecture
09/19/24, 12:00 PM
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Details TBA
Concert
09/20/24, 8:00 PM
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Details TBA
Concert Jazz Festival de Guinee
11/01/24, 8:00 PM
Conakry, Guinea. TBA
Details TBA
vIDEOS
AUDIO
GALLERY
News
UPDATES 2021-2024
ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC DUO
Formation of new duo in France with guitarist Edouard Chaize
"Prince Diabate et Edouard Chaize Diabate" check out their live performance videos on this site.
Here are some of the other projects:
WINTER 2023
New single entitled "The Traveler" recorded in Venice, CA, USA due for
release on December 1st. This is a collaborative effort between Prince Diabate
on kora and El Duelo, featuring Michael Jost, Rick Boston and Matty D.
SUMMER 2022
Multiple recording & performing projects in Los Angeles, CA & New Mexico,
USA. Here is Prince performing on a video produced by "Playing for Change" in
collaboration with the ICRC. This featured 40 musicians across the globe.
Live performance on Radio Venice with Edouard Chaize Diabate & Michael Jost as special guest on guitar.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022
A new studio album from Prince Diabate entitled MY MUSIC, was recorded in Guinea, Conakry. Mixed in France & mastered in the USA it was released in October, 2022.
JULY 2021
A collaboration with US singer/songwriter, Malena Cadiz, on a new
track for her upcoming album to be released in the USA later in 2022.
APRIL 2019
A collaboration with Ozomatli on a new track, "Find A Way"
recorded in Guinea (2019) & Los Angeles, CA, USA (2021)
Construction work on the PRINCE DIABATE MUSIC ACADEMY in Conakry, Guinea continues at pace. A mini opening is scheduled for March 2024.
Formation of TUMBAFE, a collaboration with Paul Livingstone
for kora, kamelen n'goni, sitar & percussion (gourd music)
in Los Angeles, California, USA.
First live performance below at Zebulon, Los Angeles, Sept 2019
Contact
Linda Bawden Allen/Prince Diabate
8306 Wilshire Blvd, 254
Beverly Hills CA, 90211
Further Information/Booking France
Djamila Lebdiri
email: djamila.15emeart@gmail.com
Tel: +33(0)671.78.36.21
Management Worldwide
Linda Bawden Allen
email info@princediabate.com
Tel:
+33 (0) 634 95.94.59 (France)
