He is a master kora player, and specializes in the West African classical music tradition which dates from the period of Sundiata.
Tunde Jegede was born in London in 1972 to a Nigerian father and English mother (of Irish descent – the painter/filmmaker Galina Chester).
[2] From an early age he was exposed to resident and visiting artists who worked in a multi-disciplinary mode, including Bob Marley, Walter Rodney, Edward Brathwaite, Angela Davis and Linton Kwesi Johnson.
[5] Jegede's appreciation of Western Classical music began with his grandfather's love of Bach and by observing his work as a church organist.
Over the years, Jegede has kept his creative diversity intact by working closely with singers, vocalists, and spoken-word artists from a wide range of traditions, including opera, pop, R'n'B, reggae, hip hop, and jazz.
Born to a Nigerian father and Irish mother, Tunde Jegede had to learn to balance cultures and carve out an identity from an early age.
Leaving England as a child, Tunde travelled to Africa to train with master of kora Amadu Bansang Jobarteh, whose family has held the ancient griot tradition since the 13th century.