GIGS4U ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: SEAN GASKELL

Sean Gaskell — Tacoma, WA

Sean Gaskell plays the kora, a 21-string West African harp at the center of an 800-year-old musical tradition carried by oral historians known as Griots. He studied directly under master players Moriba Kuyateh and the late Malamini Jobarteh in Brikama, Gambia, over three visits spanning 2008 to 2018, and later traveled to Senegal to study with Youssoupha Cissokho and his son Mamadou in Saly. Gaskell approaches this tradition with the seriousness and dedication it deserves, and the music reflects it.

Based in Tacoma, WA, Gaskell has presented adult, youth, and family programs at over 400 libraries and dozens of schools, colleges, and universities across the United States and Canada. His performances are as much about context as they are about sound — each one opens a window into a living musical heritage that most audiences rarely encounter. That commitment to meaningful live experience is precisely what Gigs4U is looking for.