Abdoul Doumbia was born in Bamako, Mali in 1963. He began playing Djembe at age five and completed a 16 year apprenticeship with Moriba Keita from Ziragori, Guinea. Moriba is the direct disciple of Daba Keita, the famed Mendianni revivalist. Abdoul was the lead Djembe player of Bamako’s prestigious performance troupe Babemba for nine years.

Beginning at age 19 he was chosen six years in a row to represent Mali nationally as their lead Djembe player. At age 26, he was brought to the United States by Brown University, where he was professor of African Music Studies for six years. He also taught regularly at Yale, University of Connecticut and Princeton. In 1996, he moved to Boulder, Colorado where he currently lives and teaches.

Abdoul is a major contributor to many of the projects that KSK has undertaken. His home in Bamako has been the base of all KSK’s work in Mali, including the many recording sessions which have taken place within his compound. He has provided incredible assistance with our work on many, many levels and for this we thank him profusely and honor him for the master musician and strong, upright person that he is. He is one of the deepest people we know.

Releases
Abdoul Doumbia
Denbaya
2008