VOYAGERS

Voyagers is a unique acoustic trio featuring kora maestro Yacouba Sissoko from Mali, Austrian saxophonist Edith Lettner, and American guitarist Banning Eyre. Yacouba is a musician in the Griot tradition from the renowned Sissoko family in Mali. Lettner is a jazz musician and a veteran collaborator with West African musicians, both in Austria and Senegal. And Eyre has a long history of forays into African guitar and is a senior producer for Public Radio’s Afropop Worldwide. All three are talented, seasoned and respected musicians who have long had their own separate musical careers.

Since first meeting in New York in 2013, they have delighted in performing together whenever all three were in town, and for good reason: they make magic – lively, enchanting, grooving without drums – the soft magic of three melody instruments, their melodic and rhythmic lines and patterns linking in perfectly. Theirs is music deep with tradition and alive with improvisation and spontaneity, to the delight of audiences whenever they perform.
YACOUBA SISSOKO
Yacouba is a Master Kora player from the Djely griot tradition. He was born in Mali and currently lives in New York City. Yacouba is in demand as one of the best kora players in the world, playing with jazz, Latin and R & B bands as well as traditional African ceremonies. Some of his standout collaborations include jazz violinist Regina Carter and the singers Bobby McFerrin, Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon and Youssou N´Dour.

His grandfather, Samakoun Tounkara, began teaching Yacouba when he was 12 years old. Yacouba attended the Institut National des Arts du Mali in Bamako. After his graduation, he played with artists like Taye and Oumou Sacko, Haja Soumano, Djallou Demba, Ami Koita, Fantani Koure, Kandia Kouyate and l’Ensemble Instrumental du Mali. From 1993 to1998 he performed all over the world with the Ensemble Koteba, the 45-piece band of Souleymane Koli. He has traveled to almost every nation on the African continent, as well as most of Europe, Canada, the US and Australia. As leader of his own band Siya, and member of the groups Super Mande, Yacouba continues to play and record with many famous musicians, including the groups Source, Tamalalou, Fula Flute and Yacande. https://yacousiskora.com/

EDITH LETTNER
Edith is probably best know as a jazz musician, but she also has a deep love for African music. She has played with countless African musicians, mainly in Austria, Senegal and New York. She traveled to Senegal 13 times and worked with many great musicians there; among the better known in Africa and internationally are Baboulaye Sissoko, Suleymane Faye, Orchestre National du Senegal, Thione Seck and Mansour Seck, collaborator and lifelong friend of Baaba Maal. In New York she has played with the likes of Martino Attangana and Mandingo Ambassadors. Besides Yacouba Sissoko Edith has played with several kora players from the Griot tradition. In 2010 she founded her ensemble African Jazz Spirit in Dakar, Senegal, performing her own compositions and those of bassist Cheikh Ndao. In 2012...