Singing – Konkoni.org

The short documentary by Jeremy Chevrier of Rootsyrecords features Sega Cisse and other villagers from the area of Fuladugu, west of Bamako. There are a lot of familiar rhythms and dances featured in this video, and it’s nice to see footage of them from Fuladugu in contrast to Bamako. Key Moments: 0:00 Jeremy Chevrier Plays the intro […]

January 22, 2015

Madan : Adama Coulibaly

Exceptionally melodic playing in this video by djembefola Adama Coulibaly in Kangaba, Mali, south of Bamako. Adama leaves a good amount of space in his soloing to let the simple accompaniment and dundun playing come through. Toward the end of the video, the dance starts to heat up, leading into what’s called “Mana Mani” in […]

January 17, 2015

Festival : Segou, Mali

Malik Drame plays Bara music on bonkolo at a Bamana festival in Segou Mali. Funky! Bonkolo predates Djembe for the Bamana people. Today, in Mali, ancient rhythms like Bara get played on djembe, too. It’s good to get an idea of the origional instrumentation for these rhythms. The ergonomics of bonkolo tend to result in […]

January 12, 2015

Mendiani, Tansole, Maraka + More : Daouda Doumbia

Daouda Doumbiya sings songs and plays some very nice phrasing for a handful of djembe rhythms in Segou, Mali. We Like this Video Because: Daouda sings some songs that are easy to hear. He plays phrases that mark the dance. He uses some closed and muted slaps for melody. Daouda is a great player, and […]

January 7, 2015

Ceremony In Bamako : Seydou Keita

Seydou Keita plays djembe tastefully at this ceremony in Bamako. Do you know the name of this rhythm and dance? We like this video because: Seydou is a younger guy with great energy, but unlike many young djembe players in Bamako, he respects each rhythm’s special flavor. It’s a good study reference. Tisanba doesn’t show up […]

December 18, 2014

Ngri, Suku : Mamadou Sidibe

Mamadou Sidibe, plays Ngri and Suku (or Maninka Mory Foli, as it’s sometimes called in Tamba) with Samba Traore on Accompaniment. We like this video because: In this video, there are no dunduns, but they play djembe with remarkable melody. Mamadou plays with juicy techniques like the tone roll, and closed slaps. Just like Famoudou […]

November 28, 2014

Korojuga Music : Segou, Mali

A procession plays Korojuga music and enters a compound in Segu, Mali. We like this video because: In this video we see the group play a rhythm with a cycle of 5 notes. This is rare in Mande music. It reminds us that there’s always an exception to the rule.

November 23, 2014

Soli : Mamady Traore

This is a good video highlighting the goloba or “echauffment” of Soli (Suku) from Upper Guinea. In this video, you’ll find not only djembe playing, but also useful demonstrations of the Sangban echauffment phrase and versions of echauffment dance steps.

July 11, 2014

Damba : Dialla Diawara

Dialla Diawara plays Damba at this party for an organization of young women that took place in Kankan, Upper Guinea. Dialla’s phrasing here is powerful and tasteful. He’s got the spirit! He’s able to play serious, and have a ton of fun joking around at the same time.

July 6, 2014