Nicole Mitchell and Ballaké Sissoko

Two instruments rarely heard in a jazz context; in this combination, they are arguably unique: the flute of American musician Nicole Mitchell and the kora of Ballaké Sissoko from Mali. Having recorded together, they are now also performing on stage as a duo.

There’s no doubt about it: the ‘Bamako*Chicago Sound System’ – the title of the album released last year by Nicole Mitchell and Ballaké Sissoko – works, and how: against a backdrop of wide-ranging, rhythmically oscillating soundscapes, a tapestry of music emerges that calls for reconciliation, carries on ancient African rituals and promises imminent healing. For the two of them, it is about nothing less than using music to conjure up the urgently needed unity of an increasingly dystopian world.