NPR’s All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen saw 660-plus concerts in 2013. Out of all of these shows, he named Ballake Sissoko and Vincent Segal’s concert at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C., as his favorite.
“The interplay between this African harp and the cello was transcendent,” Boilen said. “It’s simply delightful and uplifting to witness.”
Boilen’s far-ranging “Favorite Concerts of 2013” list includes such global musical luminaries as post-rock band Sigur Ros and British folk artist Laura Marling.
Of Sissoko and Segal, Boilen said “I…believe these players are still discovering the possibilities in their virtuosity.”
At Peace, Sissoko’s solo Six Degrees album, was released to critical acclaim in February 2013, building on the success of his work with Segal on Chamber Music (2009).
Sissoko and Segal’s January 2011 NPR Tiny Desk Concert gives a glimpse of their collaborative power and of the 2013 performance Boilen called “fiery and memorable.”
