Héritage

Etoile Audio and Nonesuch Records present Héritage, the last album from Malian kora master Toumani Diabaté, playing in a quartet with his sons Sidiki, Balla and Ahmed. It was the first album Toumani made with all three sons, accomplished musicians and kora players, before his death in July 2024. Earlier that year, he gathered them to realise his dream of making music together in an ensemble of koras.

Recorded in the Diabatés’ Bamako family home and produced by Toumani, Héritage celebrates the family’s musical heritage and the Mande tradition of hereditary musicians, or djelis. Sidiki describes his father’s vision as a gentle, spiritual choir of koras.

After Toumani’s passing, his daughter Djelika sent the recordings, at his request, to his longtime friend and collaborator Nick Gold, founder of Etoile Audio. The album includes ‘Mande’, a tribute to Mande culture and heritage that draws on the Mali national anthem and the traditional piece ‘Lamban’, with electric guitar from Madou Tounkara.