Orcas Center will present Guinean-Canadian musician Alpha Yaya Diallo and his band, Bafing, on Saturday, July 31.

Guitarist, singer and songwriter Alpha Yaya Diallo is a Canadian artist performing in French, English and his native Guinean languages of Foulani and Souso. Diallo is a multi-cultural, multi-talented artist whose dexterous acoustic and electric guitar-playing, with its fluid melodic lines and compelling grooves, places him in the front ranks of African musicians. His band, Bafing, features high energy African rhythms, visually stunning dancers and a dynamic percussion section.

Alpha was discovered in the late 1980’s by Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records when he was lead guitarist for Fatala. Born in Guinea, West Africa, Diallo was frequently on the move with his family, growing up in a number of regions. He was exposed to a variety of cultures and musical traditions from the Malenke, Sousou, and his own Foulani people. During the time he spent in neighboring Senegal, Diallo picked up the popular and powerful mbalax rhythm—as well as influences from Cape Verde and the Caribbean.

By uniting the traditional and the contemporary, Diallo has carved a niche for himself beside such West African luminaries as Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, Youssou N’Dour, and Ismael Lo. In 2007, Alpha was the only North American artist approached by the United Nations to create a work for a compilation CD intended to raise awareness around the issues of HIV/AIDS, hunger, and debt relief in Africa. The finished piece, Imme Africa / Get Up Africa is a tribute and a rallying call to the potential and responsibility of the people of that continent.

Visit the Orcas Center website www.orcascenter.org for a video sample of Diallo and Bafing in concert, for more information or to purchase tickets. Patrons may also call or visit the Orcas Center box office 360/376-2281 ext 1 during box office hours, Thursday-Saturday, noon – 4 p.m. Tickets are $25, $17 for Orcas Center members and $11 for students.