Mady Keita

[kostadjembe]

Mady is and will be my teacher here in Melbourne. A real traditionalist, trying to preserve the Bamana cultural heritage. An amazing person with such a good heart and an amazing sense of humor. I remember the first lessons we had together and he was really strugling with his English. Lines such as "one, two, four..." or "one-one" meaning left right...made the classes special!

One thing that really striked me with Mady was that he would never listen to any djembefolas that were not Bambara. I would give CDs with Famoudou or Mamady and he would say "I dont want to be influenced. They play their music and I play mine. But we are all Mande. We are all the same" I still dont know why really he didnt want to listen to other djembefolas.

Whoever knows him has only good things to say about him. He currently lives in Melbourne. He is involved in different projects and hopes to start his own business.

Here is a quick bio and a few videos that showcase his musicality.

Mady Keita began his drumming tutelage under the guidance of the legendary Mouriba Keita. From the age of fourteen, Mady studied the traditional rhythms of his people - The Bambara tribe from Mali. Steeped in a heritage of djembe, dun, calabash and song, Mady soon became an active member of local Bamako outfits Ballet Bimba and The Ballet National. He graduated to chief percussionist of "Shemin de Fer" and starred in "Troupe Saura" - a music and theatre production in Bamako. Later Mady began his own Ensemble, "Manding percussion" and continued to work as a renowned freelance percussionist with the likes of Rokia Traore. Mady is a patient and dedicated teacher with a wealth of knowledge of authentic Manding rhythms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSLfXu9iFpE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYC83sI7Zng

[Onetreedrums]

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to study with Mady in Bamako in 2003/2004. He is an incredible teacher and I really appreciated his strict devotion to an older style of Malinke and Bamana jenbe playing. While these videos provide a slight glimpse into Mady, check out his CD with System Krush http://www.systemkrush.com/store/cd_mady_keita.php... it is outstanding. Here are a couple of videos of him demonstrating some lesson material along with Matche Traore playing konkoni - nice and slow.

Tansole


Maraka