The whirling balafon playing of Aly Keïta, the winner of the ‘Special Instruments’ prize of the German Jazz Award 2022, is spectacular. The mallets in his hands seem to dance on the bars. The West African musician has achieved world fame with his mastery of the balafon, which he has played since childhood, and has made it into the ranks of the greats: Joe Zawinul, Omar Sosa, Rhoda Scott, Paco Séry, Pharoah Sanders, Paolo Fresu, L.Subramaniam, Trilok Gurtu & Jan Garbarek, Shai Maestro, Amadou & Mariam, Habib Koite, to name just a few.

Aly Keïta was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. His ability to place the balafon, an instrument that is thousands of years old, in a modern musical context has made him famous worldwide. The balafon is traditionally the instrument of the griots, the oral storytellers and songwriters of West Africa. Although he is rooted in tradition, Keïta’s Afro-pop and funk rhythm section and his preference for complex jazz-orientated arrangements clearly set him apart from most balafonists. 

Aly comes from a famous family of musicians. His instrumental brilliance has enabled him to work with jazz and world music legends such as Trilok Gurtu, Joe Zawinul and many others. 

Keita made his debut as a bandleader in 2008 with the album Akwaba Inisene, which caused a sensation throughout Europe. It immediately reached the top 20 of the World Music Charts Europe. In the months following the release of the album, Keita toured extensively throughout Europe and Africa. Keita and his ensemble performed from Maputo to Barcelona to Amsterdam.

Today, Aly Keïta lives in Berlin and connects musical worlds with the impressive virtuosity. He wanders between spectacular African rhythm, polyphony and jazz elements, and combines them to create a wonderful and unique sound world – two magical hands and a thousand and one strokes.

Together with his Berlin-based trio Aly Keïta recorded the album “Balafon Evolution” (One World Records, 2026), which changes the role of the balafon, known as a traditional instrument of West Africa, into a universal modern instrument. This album brings balafon art to the new level, reflecting innovations of the actual global music, jazz and fusion.