Fatoumata Diawara (a.k.a. Fatou) was born of Malian parents in the Ivory Coast in 1982. As a child she became a member of her father’s dance troupe and was a popular performer of the wildly flailing didadi dance from Wassoulou, her ancestral home in western Mali. She was an energetic and headstrong girl and at the age of 12 her refusal to go to school prompted her parents to send her to live and be disciplined by an aunt in Bamako. She was not to see her parents again for more than a decade. 

Her aunt was an actress, and a few years after arriving, Diawara found herself on a film set looking after her aunt’s infant child. The film’s director was captivated by Diawara’s adolescent beauty and she was given a one-line part in the final scene of the film Taafe Fangan (The Power of Women). This led to a lead role in a film by the celebrated director Cheick Omar Sissoko: 1999’s La Genèse (Genesis). 

At the age of 18 Diawara travelled to Paris to perform the classical Greek role of Antigone on stage. After touring with the production she returned to Mali where she was given the lead in Dani Kouyaté’s popular 2001 film Sia, The Dream of the Python. The film tells the story of a West African legend called Sia, a young girl who defies tradition. To many in Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and Burkina Faso, Diawara is Sia thanks to the film’s enormous success throughout the region.

Offers for further acting roles poured in but Diawara’s family wanted her to settle down and marry and forced her to announce, live on Malian television, that she was abandoning her career as an actress. 

In 2002 Jean-Louis Courcoult, the director of the renowned French theatre company, Royale de Luxe, travelled to Bamako to offer Diawara a part in his new production. An unmarried woman is considered a minor in Malian society so her family’s permission was required. They refused. After much soul-searching Diawara took the daring decision to run away and at the Bamako airport she managed to board a plane for Paris, narrowly escaping the pursuit of the police who had been alerted to the girl’s “kidnapping.” 

With Royal de Luxe, Diawara performed a variety of roles around the world including tours in Vietnam and Mexico and throughout Europe. During rehearsals and quiet moments she took to singing backstage for her own amusement. She was overheard by the director and was soon singing solo during the company’s performances. Encouraged by the reception from audiences she began to sing in Parisian clubs and cafes during breaks from touring. Here she met Cheikh Tidiane Seck the celebrated Malian musician and producer who invited her to travel with him back to Mali to work on two projects as chorus vocalist; Seya, the Grammy–nominated album by Malian singer Oumou Sangaré, and Red Earth, the Grammy–winning Malian project by American jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater. When the albums were released Diawara toured worldwide as singer and dancer with both artists. 

Progressive folk in all senses
Instruments from many cultures, places and times
A blend of tradition and innovation
An electro-acoustic mix
Languages and authors reborn
For "As long as there is a good story and someone to listen, we'll get by"

Fabio Briganti (Italy): bell cittern, fiddle, lapsteel guitar, harmonica, voice 
Fiorenzo Mengozzi (Italy): drum, darbuka, bodhràn, noises
Filippo Fiorini (Italy): didjeridoo, dan moi, nefir, kalimba
Marie Rascoussier (France): electric bass, dulcimer, cigarbox guitar, voice

The Marcabru project was born in 2004 from the ashes of I Musici, a band founded in Forlimpopoli in the early 90s. Marcabru is a French name of a 13th century Provencal troubadour of humble, proletarian origins... one of the few. He was an important innovator within the poetic movement of the troubadours because he invented the "trobar clus", a form of hermetic poetry completely unusual for his time. Due to his origins, his originality and his craft, the band has chosen him as their own ancestor and protector. The sonority of the name: Marcabru (pronounced in French with a virtual accent on the u) was also liked immediately.

Marcabru are: Fabio Briganti and Marie Rascoussier (members of I Musici) with Filippo Fiorini and Fiorenzo Mengozzi.  Each of them have their own musical history and points of reference and together they arrange traditional melodies with a contemporary and experimental attitude.

It is not easy to define the music that they propose ... some called it progressive folk, others folk-rock. In their music scents of Celtic folk (Irish, Scottish, Breton, English) can be found, but also elements of European popular music (from the scandinavian North, to the Mediterranean, passing through Italy); all this enriched by acoustic and electric sounds obtained with an original use of instruments often created by Fabio Briganti. An essential element that binds everything together is the didjeridoo, a rhythmic and hypnotic drone. What label to use then? They like to define themselves as “folk randagio” (stray folk).

Beautiful Meditation Music and music for yoga. Individual shorter tracks and long play 1 hour tracks for total relaxation. Download 1 hour of music ⬇️   https://meditationmusicdownloads.bandcamp.com/album/inner-spriritMusic by Paul Landry and guest musicians including Elenniyah.

About Greenleaf Music
Greenleaf Music is an independent music company owned, operated and curated by trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas. While concentrating on releasing jazz, post-jazz and world music, the company's primary focus is creativity in musical expression. Greenleaf’s sound is defined by the artists signed to it, and the room they are given to explore their own sonic world. What truly interests listeners is not just the recorded product, but the artists themselves. As such, Greenleaf strives to create interactions with fans that go beyond traditional recorded music sales. Producing CDs, vinyl records, downloads, sheet music, subscriptions, a bi-weekly podcast and a blog with artist commentary and discussion, Greenleaf Music creates a dynamic community of fans that supports artists fully and fairly.

For up-to-date info and updates, visit www.greenleafmusic.com
To reach our store, visit www.greenleafmusic.com/store/

About Dave Douglas
Dave Douglas is a prolific trumpeter, composer and educator from New York City. His unique contributions to improvised music have garnered distinguished recognition, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Aaron Copland award and two Grammy nominations. Douglas has developed his work for several unique ensembles with whom he’s currently active, including his new quintet; Keystone, an electric sextet; and, Sound Prints, co-led with saxophonist Joe Lovano.

Since 2005, Douglas has operated his own record label, Greenleaf Music, releasing his own recordings as well as albums by other artists in the jazz idiom. Through his artist-friendly approach and innovative practices, he continues to prove himself a pioneer among artist-run labels.

Douglas has held several posts as an educator and impresario. From 2002 to 2012, he served as artistic director of the Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at The Banff Centre in Canada. He is a co-founder and director of the Festival of New Trumpet Music, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2012. In 2013, he began his second year as International Jazz Artist in Residence at the Royal Academy of Music in London and launched his own Jazz Workshop, dedicated to enriching the musical experiences of younger players.

"Dave Douglas is the unassuming king of independent jazz, a model of do-it-yourself moxie, initiative and artistic freedom." - Frank Alkyer, Publisher, Down Beat Magazine

My complete discography can be found at www.sebastianvolco.com , sebastianvolco.bandcamp.com

I'm a self borned musician basically drummer but turn into percussions, world and ethnic music in the latest years.

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