Two German improvisers and a sound poet from the Ivory Coast: this is not about geopolitical explanations, but about the pure joy of playing, which extends freely across traditions and continents. Hans Lüdemann, born in 1961, studied jazz piano with Joachim Kühn and classical piano at the Hamburg Conservatory. Two trips to Africa laid the foundation for his preoccupation with African music, beyond all the Ebony and Ivory romanticism. Since 1999, Hans Lüdemann has been working with the Ivory Coast-born balafon player Aly Keïta in the Trio Ivoire. Born in Abidjan in 1969, Keïta comes from a Malinké griot family. Traditionally trained, he has developed a diatonic balafon in addition to the pentatonic balafon, which facilitates his dialog with Western musical styles. (Press release)