Sona Jobarteh

The Profile

Sona Jobarteh is an Anglo-Gambian kora player, singer and composer from a griot family. She studied kora while also taking piano, cello and harpsichord lessons at the Royal College of Music and released the album Fasiya in 2011.

From a griot family; daughter of Sanjally Jobarteh; received lessons at the Royal College of Music; widely noted as one of the first female kora recording artists; Fasiya (2011) is sung in Mandingo and blends traditional and popular styles.

Reviews celebrate Sona Jobarteh's technical mastery of the kora and her 2011 album Fasiya. The album, sung in Mandingo, blends traditional Mandinka pieces with afropop and country/blues inflections. Reviewers highlight her status as a female kora player from a griot family and her classical training at the Royal College of Music. The record is described as gentle, revolutionary, and worth listening to as a whole.