Alhaji Bai Konte Gambia
Biography
Alhaji Bai Konte (b. 1920; d. 1982 or 1983) was a jali (praise singer) from Brikama, Gambia. He played the 21-string kora and is believed to have been the first kora player to perform and tour in the United States as a soloist, playing at the 1973 Newport Jazz Festival. (Les Ballets Africains, a dance and music group from Guinea, had first performed in the U.S. in 1959, and featured a kora player.) His sons Dembo Konte and Sherrifo Konteh (sic) live in Brikama, Gambia.
