Simon Goubert & Ablaye Cissoko

In Traversées, it feels like the kora and the setar have always coexisted. Although the Iranian-Canadian trio Constantinople and Ablaye Cissoko – who engage in the jazz melodies of St-Louis, Senegal – may come from different regions, they are playing on the same strings. Delicate and noble. Beyond a simple exercise of style, the quartet perpetuates the soul and rhythm of nomadic poets, pilgrims, smugglers, the griots of Africa Mandinka and of the medieval Khorasan bakhshish.

Instant is the superb new collaboration between acclaimed Senegalese kora player and vocalist Ablaye Cissoko and skilled French accordionist Cyrille Brotto. Ablaye Cissoko enjoys collaborating with musicians from other genres and traditions. This time, he combines the ancient griot traditions of West Africa’s kora with French folk music through the sounds of the diatonic accordion.

A 30-year friendship that turns into a recording session and an album of great bond between three virtuoso musicians. They know the different currents of jazz perfectly but they do not fall into a specific category. In fact, they dominate several styles and finally have fun intertwining their differences, capturing with finesse the harmony of their instruments.

Motéma Music, now celebrating its 20th year as one of the world’s premier jazz/world labels, will release FlamenKora, a self-titled debut album from a new trio that unites West African Mande music with authentic Spanish flamenco guitar and American and Euro jazz trumpet to create a transglobal collaboration unlike any other. FlamenKora features German-born, New York-based trumpeter Volker Goetze, Senegalese-born, Paris-based kora master and vocalist Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko, and the rising Madrid flamenco guitar sensation, Alejandro Moreno. Following a series of sold-out shows in Europe, FlamenKora will introduce their cross-genre global music to the masses with their Motéma release on Friday, June 9th, 2023.