She is a virtuoso on the kora, a West African string instrument that looks like a oversized banjo but is played like a harp with its 21 strings. On her mesmerizing 2022 album, “Badinyaa Kumo,” the London-born singer-instrumentalist of Gambian heritage was joined by jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum, Senegal singer Youssou N’Dour and others. Jobarteh has performed around the world, from the Hollywood Bowl to Mexico’s Festival Internacional Cervantino, and her music was heard in the 2022 Idris Elba film “Beast.”
Sona Jobarteh
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