Favourite djembe player

[James]

Who's your favourtie Djembe player?

At the moment I can't get enough of Soungalo Coulibaly. I love it.

[Dugafola]

Jeez man...depends on the day...tough question.

i can appreciate pretty much all djembefola if they bring something fresh and or unique to the table...but also have big love for the OG traditional players as well.

I've trained the most under Mamady Keita and Bolokada Conde so those 2 for sure. also included would be Fadouba Oulare, Famoudou, Soungalo Coulibaly, Francois Dembele, Harouna Dembele, Boka, Petit Adama and Fode Bangoura.

[Onetreedrums]

I generally find myself gravitating towards Abdoul Doumbia, Fara Tolno, Mady Keita (from Mali), Soungalo Coulibaly, Petit Adama, Ibrahima Sarr, Sega Sidibe, Famadou Konate, Fadouba Oulare, and Madu Dembele. There are so many flavors, but these folks are consistantly playing through my speakers. Other mentions would go to some of my other gifted teachers during my time in Mali including Petite Madu, Mache, and Mousani Camara ... they are playing in the streets of Bamako, but do not have any CDs yet.

[Dugafola]

i forgot to mention Sega as well.

does madu dembele have a CD out?

[bops]

I'm a big fan of Soungalo Coulibaly, too. His playing was so dynamic, and his arrangements were so musical. He was firmly rooted in tradition but also extremely inventive. I just love the ensemble of balafon, guitar, kora, kamale n'goni and of course jembe and dundun. Not to mention Mariam Diakite, whose voice is so beautiful. It all came together brilliantly.

Check out the video clip I just posted.

[bubudi]

for me it would have to be soungalo, sega, ntoman, arafan, noumody, fadouba, famadizzle, delmundo, kargus, seny, lopez, mare sanogo, sarr, francois dembele, zoumana dembele, boka and bolokada.

[renki]

I have so many favourite players that i cannot nameless anyone. I love malian and guinean music. I´m just learning listening that music. It´s open very tiny pieces. Recognizing main attributes whith malian and guinean music and how they be different styles is still opened.

But example i like very mutch Zoumana Dembeles music, It´s a very musical, he use traditional intros and use amazing brakes. Flair is very high in his productions and wow what a solist. I think it´s not a marvel why peoples said " Zoumana is one of the most promising young djembefolas"

I think i like malian style more what a guinean. "Ballet is not rape malian music like a guinean style had to be" That say so many amator, but i am little incredulous whith that. I cannot see nothing bad at guinean music. Even uber balletstyle is good for me, but still i think malian jenbemusic is best what can be. When that is best it is so clear and feeling is marvelous. Here is one example: I love that clip. It is inspire me very many times traning just a basic things and feeling. I think feel is most important and you cannot get it if you dont try to find it whith basic tecnigue. Sangban versus djembe accomp is a key to roots. I see i go to the fish too far to sea so many times and i forgot most important things.

Now i listening Abdoul Doumbia and he is newest familiarity for me at djembeartits. Very good stuff and i saw one thing. The djembesound is pretty mutch similar what you can hear about Mali drums: Young guns regording.
That sound, i think is different what you can hear ordinarily in malian regordings. It's a wetter and maybe remember more guinean djembe sound what a traditional dry malian sound. Maybe it´s somewhere middle for them.
Anyhow finally i think maybe i find that sound and way what i want try to do. You never cannot know is that bossible, but lets see.

[bubudi]

yes, zoumana is truly inspirational. i have been waiting a long time to hear his second cd which was recorded mid last year, but is yet to be released.

abdoul doumbia's style is definitely more aggressive than most of the older guys, but you can tell it's grounded in the roots. i don't get quite the same feeling from the young guns cd. technically, there are similarities, but it feels different to me.

i agree with the malian sound being more like the roots, but can you tell me what do you mean by 'wet' and 'dry'? it seems different people have a different understanding of what these words mean in reference to music. what does it mean to you?

[renki]

i agree with the malian sound being more like the roots, but can you tell me what do you mean by 'wet' and 'dry'? it seems different people have a different understanding of what these words mean in reference to music. what does it mean to you?

wet means for me there is warmer sound. Items: warm, soft, balafon, gold etc.
and dry is dry. Items: dry, crispy, ancient, copper etc.

It's very hard try to explain words, what kind of are sound.

[e2c]

but still i think malian jenbemusic is best what can be. When that is best it is so clear and feeling is marvelous. Here is one example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3VAkeWv ... bel/Diansa I love that clip. It is inspire me very many times traning just a basic things and feeling. I think feel is most important and you cannot get it if you dont try to find it whith basic tecnigue. Sangban versus djembe accomp is a key to roots. I see i go to the fish too far to sea so many times and i forgot most important things.

thanks so much for posting the link to that clip, renki! It's very nice (music and dance). And the playing is quite melodic.

I like a lot of drummers from Guinea, but the "machine gun" style of playing is not something I enjoy. It feels very mechanical to me. The same is true of drummers who just don't allow any space between notes.

And even though I love Guinea-style ensemble playing, this very small, "minimalist" group style is probably what I like most of all. (I'm hooked on the 1st "Art of Jenbe Drumming" CD and have pre-ordered Vol. 2 at Amazon.com)

[bubudi]

wet means for me there is warmer sound. Items: warm, soft, balafon, gold etc.
and dry is dry. Items: dry, crispy, ancient, copper etc.

It's very hard try to explain words, what kind of are sound.

gold and copper? wow, you even have a colour to describe these sounds!
it sounds to me like this wet sound you are describing is a woody sound, as balafons are woody. but they also have a sound which is a bit like raindrops.
your description of dry as 'ancient' to me recalls the mali style drums that the old masters like to play. they are not tuned as high and as a result have more overtones, so sound a bit metallic. is this what you mean to say? but then you also describe it as 'crisp' which to me is the opposite - a sound which is harsher, like a crack of a whip - something more associated with a higher tuned drum. also, if 'wet' is warm, then does 'dry' mean cold? don't get my intentions wrong, there is no right or wrong description of sound. i am just trying to understand yours.

[e2c]

Well OK, you've got me going now.

Dununs have a very warm sound. Once I got my own set, and got to hear them away from other drums, some descriptions came to mind... That the sound is like honey and chocolate and rich, golden sunlight all together.

As for "dry," I think of that as a very woody sound. "Crisp" seems to go along with that quite well. I actually think of lower-tuned djembes as having a "dry" sound (believe it or not). I feel like I can hear the wood better.

"Wet" for me = "dark." Darker-toned, like a clarinet being played in its lower register.

Given the fact that instruments (of most any kind) are capable of producing a huge variety of tonal colors, it makes sense to me that people would have a lot of different ways of describing this.

Make of this what you will!

[bubudi]

i'm still waiting for renki to clarify, but now e2c, you have made me curious
is there a kind of djembe, dunun or sound on one of those that you would describe as 'wet'?
would a ringy djembe sound wet/dry to you? warm or cold? bright or dark?
how about a really cranked guinea-style djembe?
are some dunun 'dark', for instance, the dununba?
do you see colours for some of the tones on the djembe like you do with your dunun?

[renki]

your description of dry as 'ancient' to me recalls the mali style drums that the old masters like to play. they are not tuned as high and as a result have more overtones, so sound a bit metallic. is this what you mean to say?

This is same what i think. Maybe that crisby was wrong place now.

I think wet sound is warm and woody like you said and last post where i describing sound i planned use cold whith malian sound but that was being bad description. Warm means for me more melodic sound. I found that wet description in that board and i think it´s not a first description what i would use. Jep, warm is better for me.

But now i wonder is that only thing how you tuning your djembe what deline is djembe wet or dry?
How effect what way you play?
Can you play, dry or wet or even warm or cold?

Lots of question and still more things what must to learn!

[e2c]

i'm still waiting for renki to clarify, but now e2c, you have made me curious
is there a kind of djembe, dunun or sound on one of those that you would describe as 'wet'?
would a ringy djembe sound wet/dry to you? warm or cold? bright or dark?
how about a really cranked guinea-style djembe?
are some dunun 'dark', for instance, the dununba?
do you see colours for some of the tones on the djembe like you do with your dunun?

Hmm... lots of question; not sure I have answers to all of them!

Colors: no, I never have thought of sounds in that way ('til I got my dununs), though I do think of tonal colors as well as textures. (Sort of an analogy to fact that you can create a nearly infinite variety of actual colors, depending on how you mix your paint - I was a visual arts major back in the day.) One thing that really intrigues me about drums with natural skin heads is the wide variety of "colors" and "textures" that can be produced. I honestly have yet to hear that with synthetic heads of any kind, let alone synthetic heads on plastic or wood compound drums.

I do think the kind of skin you use makes a potentially huge difference in the range and type of sounds that are possible. Goat sounds different than calf, which sounds a lot different than fish skin (which is what's on my better darbukas), etc. I do have a preference for the "warmth" of calfskin, which is probably one of the reasons my dununs have been so much fun to play. I've always wanted that particular sound, and have never played anything that had it. (I don't own any congas; never have.) These are also my 1st double-headed drums, and that makes a real difference, too.

for the most part, I think goatskin-headed djembes sound a bit (or a lot) metallic, especially when the skin is new. It seems like they tend to sound best (warmest) right around the time the skins need to be replaced due to hard playing. (Kind of like how cotton shirts feel better the more beat-up they become, you know?) One of the reasons I enjoy playing a Mali-style shell is that there's a greater depth and richness - also fullness - to the sound than is the case (I think) with Guinea-style shells. But that's largely due to the way the interiors are shaped, I believe. I love hearing the deep bass blending with the higher pitches and overtones that you get with a good Mali-style shell. (But I love my Guinea drum, too!)

As for dununbas sounding "dark," I think so, but I'm not sure I can explain that any further. I think the duggi (bass drum) in a tabla set generally sounds "wet," but that has a lot to do with the skins, the way the heads are prepped (those "black dots"), and tuning. (Actually, I think most of the Indian drums I've heard - those with the "black dots," at least - have a "wet" sound, regardless of whether their bodies are wood or high-quality metal.)

And I really, really dislike the sounds made by aluminum darbukas with plastic heads. I know those drums can be great in humid weather, but .. there's just no soul there!