Djékady (feat. Balla Kouyaté and Mike Block)

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BIOGRAPHY

As soon as Balla Kouyaté was old enough to sit up, his father placed a mallett in his hand. If their 800-year-old lineage of balafon players were a baobab tree, Balla would be its newest branch. The Kouyaté family are griots from the village of Niagassola on the Mali-Guinea border. In West African culture, griots are more than just eminent musicians — they are storytellers, soothsayers and peacemakers. They transmit their oral history like a long game of telephone across generations. Djékady, Kouyaté's collaboration with Grammy-winning cellist Mike Block, puts Malian music into conversation with American folk music and contemporary styles, allowing new shoots to sprout from his family’s musical tree.

Kouyaté and Block met through their work with the Silkroad Ensemble. Kouyaté has a deep appreciation for the legacy and culture of his traditional music, but wants to make music without limitations or boundaries. He found a simpatico relationship with Block. “Balla’s joy and unbridled enthusiasm is infectious,” Block says, smiling. “There is so much trust between us,” offers Kouyaté. “We treat each other like brothers.” Djékady is a Mandinka phrase that means for ”coming together is good.“ Every song is a trust fall, with each musician leaping higher and higher knowing their bandmates will catch them every time. “I’m learning to read the tea leaves of West African rhythms,” Block laughs, “but on stage, we stretch way beyond what happens in rehearsal. It’s always wild and revelatory.”

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Artist Bios

Balla Kouyaté has been featured on over 45 albums, including Silkroad’s Sing Me Home, Yo-Yo Ma’s Songs of Joy and Peace, Angelique Kidjo’s Oyo, and Vusi Mahlasela’s Say Africa. His music has been recorded for the Library of Congress and heard in venues like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, and The Kennedy Center as well as festivals throughout US and Europe. As an ed ucator, he has offered masterclasses in universities and schools across the country including Harvard University, MIT, Berklee School of Music and CalArts. Kouyaté was chosen as a NEA National Heritage Fellow in 2019.

Mike Block is a Grammy Award-winning cellist, singer and composer with a passion for cross-cultural collaboration. Hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene,” (Gramophone) he has been a member of the Silkroad Ensemble for nearly twenty years, and directs Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop. Yo-Yo Ma calls Block “the ideal musician for the 21st century,” saying, “I’m always struck by his unique perspective on the world and his relaxed and confident approach; he takes on new music and new things fearlessly.”

Djékady features three African and three American musicians. Originally from Côte D’Ivoire, Sekou Dembele plays the djembe, an instrument whose name means “gather together in peace.” Idrissa Koné (talking drum, calabash, percussion, vocals) hails from the town of Mopti in Mali and is a member of the Bobo tribe. The Koné family’s role in their culture is to be like a friendly radio announcer — sharing news and announcements to everyone within walking distance. Luke Okerlund is guitarist and luthier from Worcester, MA with a longtime appreciation for West African music. Mike Rivard (bass, sintir) has spent time studying music in Morocco and brings the hypnotic quality of North African Gnawa music to the band. Dayana plans to release a new album in Fall 2025.