Maré Sanogo was born in 1951 in the village of Makono near Bamako, Mali. He belongs to the Mandingo ethnic group which has its origins in the Kangaba region. Son of a farmer, he is called upon to supervise the plantations during the rainy season.
From their lookout in the trees, the guardian children played music with makeshift drums, called “kolokolos”, to chase boredom and possible predators, such as monkeys, fond of young tender shoots. In addition, as they were isolated, the music allowed them to communicate with each other.
The ritual initiation of boys, around the age of 12, allows him to devote himself to traditional percussions. Thus, his game lurks and becomes refined during parties that celebrate the work of the land, the rhythms of dances, masks, weddings, births.
It was during a party in his village when he was 15 years old that he was spotted by the director of the national ballet, Mamadou Badian Kouyaté, founder of the National Ballet of Mali, who then scoured the country, looking for young talents.
From then on, he leaves his village and settles in Bamako where his apprenticeship will take place within the National Ballet, of which he was the best soloist, from 1966 to 1981, assuming a decisive role when it comes to the artistic dimension of the Malian Ballets.
This artistic experience encouraged him to come to France where he worked with many groups and artists such as: Lamine Konté, Robert Hossein, André Cécarelli, Hank Jones, Maurice Béjart, Cheik Tidiane Seck, Dee Dee Bridgewater etc.
Gifted with a very open and pleasant personality, he also teaches percussion with passion and wisdom. His sober playing, forged during the many Mandingo village festivals in the Kangaba region and refined by 15 years of practice in National Ballets, combines virtuosity with formidable efficiency and musicality with finesse and precision. Due to his artistic and human qualities, and the timbre of his exceptional strikes, Maré Sanogo is currently one of the greatest instrumentalists of the djembe.
Except of his participation in numerous albums of various artists and groups, in 2004 he released his first album, “Fourasi”.