Cumbancha Records is reporting the sad news that Malian musician Keletigui Diabate has passed away unexpectedly at age 81. Part of the large and extended Diabate musical family that has produced so many of Mali's greatest talents, Diabate was a virtuoso on the balafon, a West African xylophone. For the past 15 years, he has been a part of Habib Koite's band Bamada, and he has also performed and recorded with a number of other musical luminaries, both African and international, including Salif Keita, Zap Mama, Lionel Hampton, and Bonnie Raitt. Our sympathies go out to his family and friends.
Read the obituary at Cumbancha Records' website: Keletigui Diabate (1931-2012)
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