Club Africa

In Mali, Music Is a Family Legacy

"On a night out in the country's capital, Malian music—and its performers—captured author Teju Cole's full attention. When we arrived around midnight, I immediately recognized 'Titati,' a version of which I love by the late diva Bako Dagnon, who died in 2015. It was a Thursday, and the room was nearly empty. The lead guitarist was fleet-fingered, his notes drenched in feedback; the bassist was somnolently groovy; and the keyboardist, completely blind, played the keys in a percussive style. As for the singer: She was unforgettable, resplendent in traditional Guinea cloth, which was shiny and dyed a deep purple. She was in her late 20s, and her authoritative and majestic voice seemed to carry 700 years of tradition. The band played for fewer than a dozen of us, and we gave them all our energy. The walls were covered in murals of the greats: the kora player Toumani Diabaté, the singer Kassé Mady Diabaté, the guitar maestro Ali Farka Touré, the singer Salif Keita, and Bako Dagnon."