bangourake, sibo & momae playing dunungbe

[bubudi]

straight from bangourake's upcoming vol.3 instructional dvd. bangourake is teaching more advanced rhythms with new arrangements. this arrangement is entitled 'koulanyan'.
the intro is part of a cool solo/break that i learned years ago for this rhythm.

solos in order are sibo, momo and bangourake.

[Dugafola]

repackaged dunungbe. standard bangourake...take a classic dununba rhythm, add some variation on either the sangban or dununba and call it something else.

[bops]

meh.

[Dugafola]

meh.

mohammed bangoura (not related to bangourake) is the only reason to check out the CDs and or DVDs in my opinion.

[michi]

straight from bangourake's upcoming vol.3 instructional dvd. bangourake is teaching more advanced rhythms with new arrangements.

Thanks for this!

Do you have a list of the rhythms on the DVD? Any projected release date yet?

Cheers,

Michi.

[e2c]

While I'm at a disadvantage in terms of not having easy access to a teacher right now, I have to say that... I'm with Duga and bops on this one. (No offense meant to either Bangourake or those who like him; I guess I just don't "get" his approach.)

[bops]

mohammed bangoura (not related to bangourake) is the only reason to check out the CDs and or DVDs in my opinion.

Which one is he? The second soloist?

[Paul]

So wait a minute I have these guys confused, which one is Epizos brother and has a rather particular singing voice.

[bubudi]

repackaged dunungbe. standard bangourake...take a classic dununba rhythm, add some variation on either the sangban or dununba and call it something else.

you're always hating on bangourake and sibo. i'm tired of the negativity on this board lately. in this case i think it would have been better to keep your comments to yourself.

i don't think that bangourake is trying to say it's a new rhythm. it's dunungbe with a twist. i agree with you that momae is doing much nicer solos on this sample (and on many of the cuts from the first 2 dvds). and maybe that's not the best cut from the dvd. but i think bangourake is doing a fine job breaking down the parts for people to learn, which is the real objective of the dvd after all. in this 3rd dvd there's more focus on simple solos for the student. as such bangourake is keeping it very understated and letting momae do most of the fireworks.

I'm with Duga and bops on this one. (No offense meant to either Bangourake or those who like him; I guess I just don't "get" his approach.)

do you own either of the first 2 volumes? you might need to see them to get his approach, or listen to either of his first 2 cds.

Do you have a list of the rhythms on the DVD? Any projected release date yet?

freddy poncin would have all that. freddy, if you're reading this, please chime in.

Which one is he? The second soloist?

yes, momae is the 2nd soloist in that video.

So wait a minute I have these guys confused, which one is Epizos brother and has a rather particular singing voice.

bangourake and sibo are younger half-brothers of epizo. bangourake has a nice singing voice, but their childhood friend malin (fode alseny sylla) has the best voice out of all the guineans living in australia (and is a dunun player to boot).

[bops]

you're always hating on bangourake and sibo. i'm tired of the negativity on this board lately. in this case i think it would have been better to keep your comments to yourself.

hey bubudi, didn't mean to rain on your dununba. I realize my comment was rather snarky and not well explained, so I apologize. Bangourake gets a lot of attention on this board, so I think it's fair to offer some constructive criticism. From my perspective, it's all in the spirit of a good discussion and not meant to be taken personally.

I don't find his solo style particularly compelling. His phrasing sometimes sounds a little off. In this video, his phrasing is rushed. Too much pepper and not enough substance for my palate.

[e2c]

what bops said... bubudi, I have trouble (and have had trouble) listening to Bangourake because I think there are problems with his phrasing and overall musicality. It's just not a style I care for, and I think it's only fair to be able to say that his playing is not to my taste.

I'm not knocking his ability as an instructor per se. But I do wish there was something other than "Vite, vite, vite!" happening in this clip and elsewhere. (To make a comparison to a drummer mentioned in another thread, I guess... it's very much like what I feel about Abbos Kosimov's playing. Not rushing - and leaving some space - would be, imo, a better approach.)

Am not sure that differences in taste fall under the "negativity" heading, really. Like bops, I didn't intend to rain on the parade!

cheers,
e.

[Dugafola]

repackaged dunungbe. standard bangourake...take a classic dununba rhythm, add some variation on either the sangban or dununba and call it something else.

you're always hating on bangourake and sibo. i'm tired of the negativity on this board lately. in this case i think it would have been better to keep your comments to yourself.

thanks...everyone's got an opinion. if you don't like mine...i don't care. i'm not hating either, i'm just calling it the way i see it. you told me yourself that Bangourake's claims to being a "griot" are a stretch. now why in the hell is he trying to claim a big 'griot' status when he's kinda, but not really...maybe sort of a griot by birth. does Sibo claim he's griot too?

i don't think that bangourake is trying to say it's a new rhythm. it's dunungbe with a twist.

he should call it out like that then....same with every rhythm on the Hamanah dununba disc. by not doing so, he's basically creating "new" rhythms and probably introducing confusion to people who are trying to learn.

I'm with Duga and bops on this one. (No offense meant to either Bangourake or those who like him; I guess I just don't "get" his approach.)

do you own either of the first 2 volumes? you might need to see them to get his approach, or listen to either of his first 2 cds.

I own all of his CDs and volumes 1 and 2 and it's clear(once again my opinion) that Mohammed has superior technique and phrasing to both Bangourake and his brother for the warawara style found in Conakry.

[bubudi]

duga, you are entitled to your opinion, but i think for this topic you were being unnecessarily negative.

you told me yourself that Bangourake's claims to being a "griot" are a stretch.

to me a true djeli is much more than someone who simply has a parent with djeli heritage. there is a tendency for many guinean drummers living in the west to think they have to advertise djeli heritage, ballet veteranship, etc, to give them an edge. their skill and musicianship should speak for themselves, imo.

he should call it out like that then

the notes with the above video mention that these are his arrangements of traditional rhythms. i'd presume that's going to be in the dvd notes as well.

do you own either of the first 2 volumes? you might need to see them to get his approach, or listen to either of his first 2 cds.

the above comment was aimed mainly at e2c, as i believe she is making her observations based on a few video clips on the web rather than of having heard a good and diverse sample of his playing. but even if you have heard his cds and dvds, it is very different to having listened to him solo in performances or dance classes over the course of years.

Am not sure that differences in taste fall under the "negativity" heading, really. Like bops, I didn't intend to rain on the parade!

timing is everything.

also, the place to offer a critique over a person's dvd would be the media section. when you've bought and listened to the dvd, feel free to put up a negative critique of it.

[e2c]

b, with all due respect, I think maybe you're taking some statements personally that were never intended to be a criticism of you (or your likes and dislikes).

as I said earlier, I have trouble with Bangourake's style of playing, not his instructional methods. Frankly, I'm just not big on anyone playing in the way he often seems to - no matter who it is and how many years' performances they've got on their resume. (I would extend this to people as diverse as jazz pianist Art Tatum and the late jazz/fusion drummer Tony Williams, btw - both men were brilliant musicians, but at the same time, both had a tendency to overplay.)

Nobody is faulting *you* for liking this guy! It's much the same as the comments on the Maré Sanogo thread, to my mind.

And while I do hear you about recent negativity here on the board, I'm not sure that this thread was/is necessarily headed in that direction. (Though obviously, I can't speak for anyone else who's posted here, nor would I presume to do so.)

timing is everything.

I'm not sure how to take this statement. This is a new thread, open for comments. Again, while I think some comments were (initially) a shade too negative, those remarks have been explained, fleshed out - even apologized for.

Please, can we just let this one drop? Or else - if some of you gents feel like engaging in fisticuffs - please take it off-list?

[Dugafola]

to me a true djeli is much more than someone who simply has a parent with djeli heritage. there is a tendency for many guinean drummers living in the west to think they have to advertise djeli heritage, ballet veteranship, etc, to give them an edge. their skill and musicianship should speak for themselves, imo.

exactly my point. he should let his music do the talking.

he should call it out like that then

the notes with the above video mention that these are his arrangements of traditional rhythms. i'd presume that's going to be in the dvd notes as well.

we'll see. he failed in mandeng jeli and hamanah dounounba. i don't have a problem with him doing it as long as he mentions it in the liner notes that he's taking his creative liberties with traditional rhythms and that he actually states what rhythm he's modifying. it's adding to the problem of drummers in conakry and everywhere else not knowing what the fock they are playing. ask famoudou.