Mendiani : Adama Coulibaly

If you haven’t seen this yet, watch it now! Adama plays an awesome rendition of Mendiani in Kangaba, Mali.

We like this video because:

• Kangaba is in the heart of Mande. This video shows a “Mali version” of Mendiani, smack dab in its native habitat.
• Adama is obviously very comfortable with Mendiani. It’s great to see how he glides effortlessly between solo themes.
• There is an interesting dundun variation in this video that is unique. Have you heard it anywhere before?

Key Moments:

2:37 – Classic Theme – This is played in Mendiani when the girls are doing a particular dance “step” while riding up on top of the man’s shoulders.

3:32 – Bala starts playing an alternate dundun pattern which we don’t hear often.