Pa Bobo Jobarteh, one of The Gambia’s foremost musical artists and bandleader of the Kaira Band is currently in the US as part of his 2008 tour.

The young Kora star hails from a family whose musical tradition in West Africa began many generations ago, in the eighteenth century. His father is Malamini Jobarteh (formerly manager of the Gambia National Troupe, now retired from music), his grandfather was Kelung Jobarteh and his great grandfather Wandifa Jobarteh, all renowned masters of the Kora.

Brief History
Pa Bobo started playing the kora when he was 6 years old and in 1988, at the age of 11, performed at Womad in the UK to large audiences both in Cornwall and Reading.

In 1988, he formed the Kaira Band, which features his two younger brothers, Bai and Dembo, on drums and kora and the wonderful Mandika voice of his sister, Siffai Jobarteh. Together, they began to play at naming and wedding ceremonies throughout The Gambia.

The young Kora star’s rapid rise to stardom in the country comes as a result of his adaptations & progression with the musical traditions of his birth. Pa Bobo continues the Jali tradition of his ancestors, a tradition of hereditary musicians and poets, providing music, official praise, oral history and social advice to the rulers of the Mandinka people.

Pa, along with his elder brother Tata Dindin, is cited in the Rough Guide to World Music (vol. 1 p 618) as spearheading ‘a revival in Mandinka music’, a ‘relentless tumbling dance music’. He has since then been recommended by President Yahya Jammeh and the Arts Council and was a natural choice to represent The Gambia with his song Peace, Love and Unity, which hit the airwaves when it was released some years back. It became an unofficial national anthem, played daily on Gambian radio and television.

Upcoming concerts
Since the young Kora maestro arrived in the United States, he has had stage performances at major cities across the United States.
On September 10, he appeared at Seattle Zoo Concert. The show moved to Memorial Day on September 10/11, in California. Today Friday 12, the Senegalese Restaurant, Seattle, will be on fire while the peace concerts will be graced on September 21 in Seattle, California. His last concerts will be on September 26 , which will also coincide with his  "33 Years" Birthday Celebration Party, to be held in San Francisco, United States.