“THE Hendrix of the Kora”, Grammy Award winner Toumani Diabaté, comes to the Phil tomorrow night for a special performance with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Diabaté is credited with bringing the beauty of the 21-stringed kora, a West African harp, to a wider audience around the world.
“I cannot explain what is happening when I play. It's like I'm fighting something. But you don't need to be African to understand the message. Just sit down and listen carefully. It will touch you,” he says.
Diabaté is not afraid to collaborate with other musical traditions, and won a Grammy in 2006 for his album of delicate duets with Ali Farka Touré.
Toumani's music will be specially arranged by Nico Muhly and Ian Gardiner.
The concert, brought forward from the original date of October 25, is a joint commission between the Philharmonic and London's Barbican Centre, with funds from Arts Council England and the Liverpool Culture Company, as part of the 2008 Capital of Culture programme.
