in case of bad weather the concert will be held at PARC
Piazzale delle Cascine 6, Florence

Beyond Black is the title given to the meeting of two great musicians from two continents: Africa and America. Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko meets his colleague from across the Atlantic, jazz flautist Nicole Mitchell. Their meeting was set up to allow the emergence of a new, hybrid musical space that goes beyond confinement in the notions of identity.

Ballaké Sissoko, born in Bamako, began playing kora, typical griot instrument used by storytellers in West Africa, at a very young age. In 1998 he released his first solo album Kora Music from Mali Kora–Solo Album. Over the years he has collaborated with musicians such as Vincent Segal, Tourmani Diabaté, Alboulkadri Barry, Rokia Traoré, Fanga Diawara, Baba Sissoko. He has developed the art of the kora in ways that are creative and innovative while also firmly rooted in tradition.

Nicole Mitchell is an award-winning creative flutist, composer, bandleader and educator. She is perhaps best known for her work as a flutist, having developed a unique improvisational language and having been repeatedly awarded “Top Flutist of the Year” by Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll and the Jazz Journalists Association (2010-2017).
Mitchell initially emerged from Chicago’s innovative music scene in the late 90s, and her music celebrates contemporary African American culture. The former first woman president of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, she celebrates endless possibility by creating visionary worlds through music that bridge the familiar with the unknown.

in collaboration with Akamu

[photo Ballaké Sissoko: Alexander Corciulo, photo Nicole Mitchell: Roger Thomas]