Soungalo Coulibaly (1955–2004) was a Malian master drummer.
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa, a region geologically identified with the West African Craton. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over 1,240,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi). The population of Mali is 18 million. Its capital is Bamako. The sovereign state of Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Senegal rivers. The country's economy centers on agriculture and mining. Some of Mali's prominent natural resources include gold, being the third largest producer of gold in the African continent, and salt.
In African drumming, the title of master drummer is given to a drummer who is well known by other masters for their high skill and knowledge. It is a title passed down from a master to their pupil, after they have learned all there is to know about the African drum.
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Coulibaly was brought up in the purest Bambara tradition. His father was head of the village of Béléko (about a hundred kilometres from Ségou, in the Baninko region, southern Mali) like most traditional drummers, he gained his first musical experience at a very early age by accompanying work in the fields and playing at village celebrations on the bara and the sabani. He left Béléko for Fana, then for Côte d'Ivoire, and taught himself to play the djembe, seizing every opportunity to accompany the djembefola he met at celebrations, and adopting their music.
The Bambara are a Mandé ethnic group native to much of West Africa, primarily southern Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal. Today they make up the largest Mandé ethnic group in Mali, with 80% of the population speaking the Bambara language, regardless of ethnicity.
Ségou is a town and an urban commune in south-central Mali that lies 235 kilometres (146 mi) northeast of Bamako on the River Niger. The town is the capital of the Ségou Cercle and the Ségou Region. With 130,690 inhabitants in 2009, it is the fifth-largest town in Mali.
The bara is a spherical hand drum with a body made from a dried gourd or calabash, used in West Africa. Its single head is made of goatskin. To make the drum, a dried gourd is cut on one end and a single head made of goatskin is stretched across the opening. Bara drums come in various sizes, some quite large. The instrument is often used to accompany the balafon.
When Coulibaly moved to Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire, in the mid-1970s, he immediately earned a name for himself through his remarkable musicality and his ability to adapt to all sorts of different styles. Those same qualities led to recognition in Europe, where he regularly presented concerts with his group, as well as giving courses. His three previous CDs are regarded as references by his peers.
Bouaké is the second-largest city in Ivory Coast, with a population of 536,189. It is the seat of three levels of subdivision—Vallée du Bandama District, Gbêkê Region, and Bouaké Department. The city is located in the central part of Ivory Coast about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Lake Kossou, the country's largest lake. It is approximately 350 kilometres (220 mi) north of Abidjan on the Abidjan-Niger Railway and about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Yamoussoukro, the capital of the country.
Soungalo died on March 9, 2004, from cancer. [1]
