Koite biography

Koite biography

The big answer to that seems to be Habib Koit�, who comes from the Khassonk� griot tradition that�s the hereditary caste of musicians, but whose eyes are firmly on the future. Born in 1958, his lineage made music a part of his life, and it was in order to accompany his mother�s singing that he taught himself to play guitar, showing enough ability on the instrument that he was accepted at the National Institute of Arts (NIA) - remaining there four years after his graduation in 1982 to teach guitar.

From his early days he hasn�t played just in the standard Western tuning, but also traditional Malian tunes to make his instrument mimic the traditional n�goni (a four-string lute) and kamele n�goni or young man�s harp, with six strings, giving a richness and native texture to his work.

Being at NIA afforded him the opportunity to play