Jali Nyama Suso

African kora player and griot. Famous in Gambia and later also around the world for being the first kora player giving lessons outside of Africa.
Born: 1925 in Bakau, Gambia
Died: 1991 in Gambia

In his youth Suso travelled widely to play at weddings and social functions, but this got to be impossible after losing his leg after a bad fall at the age of 16. Because of this he started to concentrate on establishing a career in radio, beginning in 1956. His popularity rose with these appearances, and by the mid-60s he was a nationally celebrated figure, enjoying the patronage of President Dawda Jawara's first wife. Jawara apparently appointed him as arranger to the Gambian national anthem, 'Fode Kabba'. After two musicologists visited the region in the 1970s, he took the opportunity to travel back with them to the USA.

While he was a resident artist at the University of Washington (between 1971 - 1972) he recorded his first solo album. He additionally penned the song "Kinte's Tune" for Alex Haley's "Roots" television adaptation. In the 1980s he he toured in England, Germany, France, and Sweden.

In 1991 he died of tuberculosis after several years of illness.