Boubacar Mor Gueye
Premium memorialLovingly known as “Baba Kora”
3 March 1950 — 4 September 2023 · aged 73
Kora master of Saint-Louis, griot, music teacher and keeper of the river's stories
Saint-Louis, Senegal Born in Saint-Louis, Senegal Resting at Pikine Cemetery, Saint-LouisAbout Boubacar
The kora was older than the house, older than the street and, Baba Kora liked to say, older than the river. It had been his grandfather's, then his father's, and when Boubacar Gueye was nine years old it was placed in his lap with the words, 'Now it is your turn to be listened to.'
Born in 1950 on the island of Saint-Louis, into a family of griots, he learned the old repertoire at his father's feet: the praise songs, the genealogies, the long epics of the Wolof and Mande kingdoms. He also attended the Lycée Faidherbe, where a French teacher discovered that he could quote Molière and play the kora in the same breath and could not decide which she liked better. In 1975 he began teaching music at the Lycée Charles de Gaulle, and for thirty-five years he introduced generations of Saint-Louisiens to Bach, Bamba and Bambara melodies alike.
He led his own ensemble, Ndar Sound, which began in a courtyard in Guet Ndar and ended, decades later, on stages from Bamako to Brittany. He was a fixture at the Saint-Louis Jazz Festival from its first editions, and the festival honoured him as a living elder in 2013. Every Saturday afternoon for twenty-four years he sat on the quay with a kora in his lap and taught anyone who asked, free of charge.
He married Aminata Diop in 1977, raised four children, and treated his home like a public library of songs. He loved thieboudienne, as any son of Saint-Louis must, the second glass of attaya on the veranda, and being called a teacher more than a star.
Baba Kora died peacefully in September 2023, after a short illness. He leaves his wife, his children, eight grandchildren, and a town that still hums his melodies.
“Now it is your turn to be listened to.”
- Faith
- Muslim
- Place of birth
- Saint-Louis, Senegal
- Resting place
- Pikine Cemetery, Saint-Louis
- Passed away
- 4 September 2023, Saint-Louis
Janazah Prayer & Dua
Tuesday, 5 September 2023 at 08:00 UTC
Add to calendarLife journey
Griot apprenticeship
Gueye family tradition1957 – 1968 · Saint-Louis
Learned the kora, praise songs and genealogies from his father.
Music Teacher
Lycée Charles de Gaulle1975 – 2010 · Saint-Louis
Taught generations of students for thirty-five years.
Kora player and bandleader, Ndar Sound
Ndar Sound1972 – 2022 · Saint-Louis
Performed across West Africa and France.
Married Aminata Diop
1977 · Saint-Louis
A marriage of forty-six years.
Free kora lessons on the quay
Quai des Pêcheurs1999 – 2022 · Saint-Louis
Every Saturday afternoon, for anyone who wanted to learn.
Honoured Elder
Saint-Louis Jazz Festival2013 · Saint-Louis
For lifetime service to West African music.
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Family & connections
Boubacar is survived by
- Aminata Gueye· Spouse
- Modou Gueye· Son
- Pape Gueye· Son
- Khady Gueye· Daughter
- 8 grandchildren· Grandchildren
Tributes & memories
6 people have shared a memory of Boubacar.
Knew Boubacar? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tribute- MG
Son
My father put the kora in my lap at nine, exactly as his father had done for him. I now play his instrument and teach on the quay every Saturday. Thank you to everyone who has honoured him. His songs will not stop.
- AT
Cousin, Brooklyn
I played his cassette in my New York kitchen every Friday to remember home. When I told him, he sent me a recording of the river at sunset, with the kora in the background. I still have it. It is the most precious thing I own.
- KD
Neighbour, Guet Ndar
Every Saturday the whole street heard his lessons on the quay. Children came for the music and stayed for the teacher. He never turned one away. When my daughter forgot her lines at a school play, he stood in the back and played one note to calm her.
- JL
Festival producer, Nantes
I invited him to Brittany in 1998. He arrived with a kora in a cardboard box, played in a freezing chapel and left the audience in tears. Afterwards he asked whether we had any tea. We have never forgotten his gentleness.
- CD
Former student, Lycée Charles de Gaulle
He told our class, 'Music is a language older than French.' Then he played us a thousand years of Wolof history in ten minutes. I became a history teacher in his honour. Every year I invite a kora player to my classroom.
- IF
Friend and fellow musician, Saint-Louis
We played together at a wedding in 1981 and never stopped. Baba Kora could make a bride cry and a groom laugh in the same melody. He taught me that the instrument plays you as much as you play it. Allah yarhamu, my brother.
