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Ballaké Sissoko: picking up the pieces after US customs broke his kora Dale Berning Sawa In the Malian language Bamanankan, djourou – the title of Ballaké Sissoko’s forthcoming album – means string. “It’s the string that connects me to others,” he says. For this master of the kora, it is also the string that broke. Last February, Sissoko returned to Paris after a US tour with his trio 3MA to find that border officials in New York had dismantled his kora. The neck, bridge, strings and custom-built pickup had been removed from the body, made of calabash and parchm...

Ballaké Sissoko pictured in 2020. Photograph: ©Benoit Peverelli Last February, Sissoko’s historic instrument was disassembled on a flight home to Paris. Bolstered by a new kora, his latest album revives their borderless journey Wed 7 Apr 2021 10.00 EDT In the Malian language Bamanankan, djourou – the title of Ballaké Sissoko’s forthcoming album – means string. “It’s the string that connects me to others,” he says. For this master of the kora, it is also the string that broke. Last February, Sissoko returned to Paris after a US tour with his trio 3M...