Djembefola

So, here is an update from Mamady's Mini-Guinea camp in San Diego. I'm jet-lagged as all hell, so this is going be quite brief...

Linda and I got on a plane Saturday evening, after teaching two drum classes and a dance class in the morning. Flight was uneventful. The most notable thing about it is that it takes about 20 hours door-to-door to finally get there

We arrived 5:30pm and got to our truly shabby and awful (but cheap) hotel near LAX by about 7:30pm. Looking for dinner, we ended up at a strip mall that appeared to be the only available option within walking distance; the kind of place with about six different food outlets, all of which have "cholesterol overdose" or "food poisoning to be expected" somewhere in the fine print. In the end, we settled on the least-dangerous looking place, a small Indian restaurant. We ended up getting one of the best Indian meals I've had in...

[ Continued ]

Day 10 (Friday) of the camp.

Last day of teaching--the performance will be tomorrow.

The intermediate group finished Mendiani. Not easy to feel, and quite a difficult solo.

The advanced group quickly rehearsed Djigui and then moved on to one of Mamady's dununba compositions called Seli Mafo. "Seli" means celebration or prayer, and "Mafo" means good or happy. In other words, it means "Happy party".

On days of festivals and celebrations, there is a custom among the Mandingue people to have a group of drummers walk around the village to wake people up in a joyful way at 5:00 am (!) in preparation of the day's celebrations. I asked whether people wouldn't throw things at the musicians for being woken up at 5:00am by drums and the answer was "only money"

Normally, a variety of traditional party rhythms are played for this occasion; Mamady composed this rhythm...

[ Continued ]

I'm just now seeing the posts you guys had about my bags form 2009... thanks for the comments and view points. i need that bit of info on how you think the bags where done. Good, Bad, alright, GREAT!... what ever, the point is there's always room for improvement.
I'm working on the new line now. I've decided to do a "student Level" & a "Pro Level". I'm really trying to change the game in terms of the weight, style, durability, on the bags keeping in mind the craftsmanship in what Tony Lagrutta was going after in a higher quality (Instrument) djembe bag/case. Not commenting on what happened with Tony, but more importantly keep in mind that this is a CLASSICAL INSTRUMENT and it should be treated as such from the HISTORICAL value with its place in history and that its an instrument that's made up of natural raw materials.
Who wants a bag that weigh's half of the weight of there drum? I'm really trying not to put to much hard ware on the case but at the same time...

[ Continued ]

Manimou was out of town so Karim taught his dance class.

Abdoulaye Sylla played lead

Warm up - Kassa (sangban)

Dance was Sinte. I started on Sangban and was not as tight as I should be so I moved to kenkeni.

I attended last week's camp with Epizo Bangoura at Bent's Basin.

This was the first (and probably only) time the camp was held there. Normally, it happens at the Bundagen eco community near Coffs Harbour, but that venue wasn't available this year. Bent's Basin is a state conservation area with a large park, camp sites, and an education centre (basically a large hall) where we did our drumming and dancing.

Because Bent's Basin is twelve hour's drive from Brisbane, I wasn't planning to attend—too far to drive and, because of the camping-only accommodation, pretty much impossible to do by flying. Fortunately, Matt, a drumming mate of mine, rang a few days before the camp and offered to pick me up from Sydney airport and let me sleep in his van, so I decided to attend on short notice.

The camp ran from Monday to Thursday. Only four days this time instead of the usual seven, mostly due to the change of venue. (Quite a number of people had already bought tickets to the Bellingen Carnival, w...

[ Continued ]

events

djembe forum

articles

video lessons

djembe rhythms

artists

Who is online

Our details

Get the latest news & reviews

Follow us