Music & Performing Arts
Foday Musa Suso
Kora master and composer
1950–2025Foday Musa Suso was a Gambian kora player and composer whose work connected Mandinka oral traditions with international experimental music. After settling in Chicago, he formed the Mandingo Griot Society. His collaborations included Herbie Hancock, Philip Glass and the Kronos Quartet, alongside recordings of traditional repertoire.
THEIR MARK ON HISTORY
01Kora Music from the Gambia was released in 1978.
02Formed the Mandingo Griot Society in Chicago in 1977.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING01Smithsonian Folkways: Kora Music from the Gambia02Robert Browning Associates memorial
Photo: Milton Martínez / Secretaría de Cultura CDMX · CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped or framed for display. View original photograph.
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