Fifteen years ago, Derek Gripper did what everyone said was impossible: he recorded the works of Mali's greatest virtuoso, Toumani Diabaté, on solo classical guitar.

What followed has been an unusual career. A discography of nearly thirty albums moves from Diabaté to Bach to Arvo Pärt to Keith Jarrett-style improvisation. His collaborators include Diabaté himself, classical guitar legend John Williams, and most recently, kora master Ballaké Sissoko. His string-quartet arrangements of Diabaté's music were premiered by the Kronos Quartet.

Derek's original impulse had been to make a point: classical audiences had long accepted African rhythmic ideas as raw material for European and American composers — Steve Reich being the obvious example — but the complete works of the African oral tradition remained outside the "classical" canon. By transcribing and recording Diabaté, Derek was arguing that the classical world could credit Africa's music in its original sources, and that the word "classical" should belong to Mali as easily as it belongs to Vienna.

But somewhere along the way, performing and teaching and writing down this music, Derek became a first-language speaker of this musical language. That fluency found its fullest expression in his long partnership with Ballaké Sissoko — the two of them calling their work A New African String Theory and drawing on the rich Malian canon in 90-minute concerts of entirely improvised music.

On this tour Derek returns to solo performance, focusing on kumbengo — the cyclical variations that sit at the heart of the West African tradition. These small, ancient kernels are music that focuses the mind, that soars into melodic heights, that moves the body and aches the heart. Toumani Diabaté once showed the world that the virtuosity of Bach and modern jazz could live inside the Malian kora tradition. On this tour, the same richness arrives on a single guitar — one that has travelled from the recital hall into the wide and open fields of spontaneous musical creation.

Additional Info

Seating: General admission, first-come first-served.
Age Requirement: Ages 8+. Under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Refund Policy: Tickets are non-refundable but transferable — you're welcome to gift or sell them.
Bookings: Tickets must be purchased online. No sales at the door.
Accessibility: All venues are wheelchair accessible.
Doors Open: 45 minutes before concert start time.
Concert Length: 75 minutes (no interval).

Contact the host of Derek Gripper: Music from the strings of Mali (Philadelphia)