Aly Keïta was born in Abidjan and inherited balafon art from his father, who was a Mandingo Griot. After moving to his grandmother’s village in Mali, together with his younger brother, he continued learning their family tradition, building and playing balafons.

At the age of 18, Keïta’s virtuosity had become famous far beyond Africa and the young musician started touring around the world, mastering a new music language – jazz – and performing with some of the best artists of our time. Following the footsteps of maestro Kélétiguy Diabaté, Aly became the first who developed a chromatic balafon. He also first brought this usually accompanying percussive instrument to the front of the stage as a soloist. His acoustic, technical and visual innovations became the standard for younger generations of balafonists.

The West African musician gained worldwide recognition and collaborated with celebrated artists such as Omar Sosa, Joe Zawinul, Rhoda Scott, Paco Séry, Pharoah Sanders, Paolo Fresu, L. Subramaniam, Trilok Gurtu & Jan Garbarek, Shai Maestro, Hans Lüdemann Trio Ivoire, to name just a few. He also has recorded several experimental albums together with Lukas Ligeti.

Today, Aly Keïta lives in Berlin and connects musical worlds with his impressive virtuosity. Together with his Berlin trio he has just released an album Balafon Evolution (One World Records, 2026). In 2022 Aly Keïta won the German Jazz Prize in the category »Special Instruments«.