I'm Evan and I'm a djembe addict.

It's been a little over a year since I not only learned what a djembe is, but how to spell it, how to play it (sometimes/mostly), at least names/locations of 25% of the countries in Africa, and about 2% of their culture.

In January I had the opportunity to attend a Mamady Keita workshop. Although I didn't meet the minimum requirement of 1 year of experience, my teacher requested an exception for me and Ali/Mamady approved. All of the superlatives are trite and overused, but it blew my mind. I learned so much, not just about drumming and rhythms, but about pedagogy. Mamady is the best teacher of anything I've ever had. He was able, in a class of 40-50 people, to connect individually with each of us, offering encouragement and pushing to our limits (but not beyond). An added bonus was an amazing party after the second class at a local Cuban musician's house for a rumba. The energy and music was fantastic, and it was great seeing Mamady play conga...

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I've been thinking of writing down this story for about three years. Both for my own sake, because I think it is useful to reflect on the past, but also because I think other people might find something here that will touch them. This is a very personal account of why the djembe matters to me and why I continue to pursue Mandingue music. Mine is only one story out of thousands; the djembe has many ways to teach what people need to learn…

My name is Michi, and I live in Brisbane, Australia. I'm 50 years old now, and I've been drumming for six years—with a passion. The way I found the djembe is tied up with my upbringing and life as an adult, and with my journey from music to science and back.

Music and the performing arts were a big part of my early life. I was born and raised in Germany as the son of a professional musician. I grew up literally swimming in music and was recognised as musically gifted from an early age. I played harmonica by the time I was three, picked out simple tun...

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Day 8:

The intermediate group learned two rhythms. The first one was Sewa (which I believe Mamady created himself—I missed the start of the session, so I have no background info on it). The rhythm has a distinct Ivory Coast feel to it. The dunduns are played upright without bells, and the accompaniments are similar to Bete and Begbe (both from Ivory Coast). The second rhythm was Kotedjuga. (It's called Kotedjuga in Guinea and Koredjuga in Mali.)

Mamady improvised to Kotedjuga at the end of the session. Here is a recording.

The advanced group worked on Mamady's solo technique for Soliwulen. Most people were struggling severely with the last two techniques, which require precise micro-timing to sound right.

Mamady improvised to Soliwulen, which was a treat. You can listen to it here.

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do anybody know where I can find Boka cd ?

Day 5 (Friday) of the camp.

Group 1 did two new rhythms, Dubalen and Karinkadjan.

Dubalen is a species of tree. Dubalen are large trees, about the same size as a Baobab. The trees have a large presence in the village--they are the trees under which elders make decisions and where festivals take place.

When Mamady first started drumming, he spent a lot of time under a particular Dubalen tree in Balandugu; the rhythm (a 6/8) is one of Mamady's compositions and named in honor of that tree. Mamady was blessed by many fetishers (male and female) under that tree.

The tree eventually died and, on Mamady's last visit to Balandugu, was no longer there. Mamady cried when he saw that the tree was gone.

There is also a non-profit association of the same name that is doing projects in Balandugu to help the village. I'll post more info about that as I get it. (Update: details of the association can be found in this...

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