JUNE 26-28, 2025
ESSAOUIRA, MOROCCO

THU 27 JUNE
Moulay Hassan Stage

ALUNE WADE

Artist

BIOGRAPHY

ALUNE WADE

Senegalese bass virtuoso, composer and singer Alune Wade is celebrated throughout the world of Jazz and Afrobeat as a “super-talent” (DeutschlandfunkKultur, 2022). Born in 1978 in Dakar, Alune Wade was trained in classical piano by his father, a symphony conductor. At the age of 13, he began to play the bass in local groups, recording in a friend’s music studio at 15. Three years later, Alune Wade auditioned for Ismaël Lô, one of the most respected musicians on the African continent, with whom he would play for eight years. Since then, the artist’s career has taken a remarkable path, leading him to collaborate with many international artists. He was personally selected by Marcus Miller in 2015 to contribute to his album Afrodeezia. He has also collaborated with an impressive list of contemporary music legends like Salif Keita, Oumou Sangaré, Bobby McFerrin, Joe Zawinul, Fatoumata Diawara, Paco Sery, Bela Fleck, Cheick Tidiane Seck, Deep Forest, and Gregory Porter. His 5th album, Sultan (Enja & Yellow Bird, 2022), incarnates multiculturalism, blending unique rhythms shaped by Afrobeat, the melodic maqams of Arab music, and the sincere essence of Jazz.