Yacouba Sissoko
Master Kora Player
Master kora player Yacouba Sissoko devotes his musical gift toward expanding the awareness of West African history and culture, spreading the word of peace, and empowering his listeners to take charge and realize their imagined futures. His flexible virtuosity, which enables him to move seamlessly from one musical genre to another, has attracted the attention of an array of collaborators. Yacouba has performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC; the Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles; the New York Family Arts Festival; the Grant Park Music Festival in Millennium Park, Chicago; the Portland Jazz Festival; the Detroit Jazz Festival; and the Monterey Jazz Festival. Yacouba gives back to the community through his work with La Maison d’Art Gallery in Harlem and performances for the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial, Educational, and Cultural Center. He provides workshops and presentations to primary school and university students, and was selected as a Teaching Artist in 2007 by the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall and Carnegie’s Musical Explorers program. Currently, Yacouba can be seen performing regularly with Regina Carter and his own band, SIYA.