Born in the Ivory Coast, Aboulaye Koné is the son of a griot. It is in Burkina Faso, the country where he grew up, that he learns the rudiments of music from his childhood. He was introduced to percussion and guitar. As an adult, he was quickly noticed by his peers and accompanied great names in African music such as Les Go de Koteba, Sonatata Kondé, Fodé Kouyaté, Tiranké Sidibé, Bambino and Prince Djabaté.

When he arrived in Montreal in 2000, Aboulaye brought his knowledge to Quebec with his original compositions and his interpretations of sometimes century-old songs. Versatile, he joined the Juno award winning jazz ensemble François Bourassa, became the guitarist for Zal Idrissa Sissokho’s group Buntalo and played with several visiting African stars – Sonatata Kondé, Fodé Kouyaté, Tiranké Sidibé, Bambino and Prince Djabaté.

On stage, he takes part in various shows: La Nouba at the Corona, produced and broadcast by the first channel of Radio Canada where fifteen artists of different origins meet, and in the “House Band” of the Afrika Musique show under the direction of Éval Manigat, where he accompanies among others Lokua Kanza. In 2007 and 2008, he received recognition from the Canada Council for the Arts in Mandinka guitar and from the Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Québec in African percussion.

In 2007, he participated in the creation of the work cooperative S’Temps d’Art Africain whose main mission is the transmission of African art. Aboulaye gives courses and workshops in different structures in Quebec. He composed the music for the show Enfant Baobab, winner of the 2010 Critics’ Choice Award.