Category: Videos
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Ngri : Papus Zani
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Komo : Daouda Doumbia
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Sunu : Lamine Traore
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Ngri : Rainer Polak, Gerhard Kero
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Mendiani Dance : Mariam Diakite
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Madan Dance : Mariam Diakite
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Ngri : Mady Keita
Mady Keita plays Ngri for his drum students in Australia.
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Maraka : Matche Traore
Matche Traore demonstrates the rhythm Maraka accompanied by Jesse Servin, and Aaron in Bamako. January 2016.
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Djembe Interview : Jesse Servin
New interview with my long-time friend and musical cohort, Jesse Servin. Jesse is an exceptional musician, and one of my favorite people to play with. Jesse and I hang out in Jesse’s living room in California and talk djembe. Jesse lives in California. Since 2003, he’s been studying traditional djembe music and travels often to […]
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Djembe Interview : Greg Fletcher
Long time drummer Greg Fletcher talks about some of his experiences studying and playing djembe music. In this interview, Greg talks about many ideas, including his thoughts on finding a good teacher and how to be a good student. Greg lives in California and travels often to West Africa. He studied djembe in Tambacounda with Mamadou Sidibe, […]
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Djembe Interview : Isaiah Chevrier
Isaiah has been playing djembe since he was a toddler. You may know Isaiah as the famous “4 year old djembe drummer” on Youtube. His Youtube videos were also featured on Oprah after they went viral. Some of this kid’s ideas may change the way you see djembe forever. Isaiah is the son of Jeremy […]
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Sogoninkun, Ngri : Seydou Balo
Seydou Balo plays two rhythms from his home region of Wassoulou. First Sogoninkun and then Ngri. We like this video because: Seydou and konkoni player Madou Diakite take us through different movements of these rhythms with the ups and downs typical of Wassoulou drumming.
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Sungurubani, Fura : Souleymane Sidibe, Matche Traore
Matche Traore and his teacher Souleymane Sidibe play two rhythms in this video shot in Bamako at The Djembe Hotel. They are joined by Sidi Jan Traore, a djembe player visiting from Kayes. The first is a rhythm with many versions from Wassoulou known as Sungurubani. The second is called Fura in Bamako (aka Kita […]
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Suku : Issou Keita
This is a clean Bamako version of Suku (Soli Rapide) with clear language and minimal embellishments. Issou (Student of Matche Traore, and son to Michael Tivier of Wassoulou Percussions) plays through a sequence twice – the second time is faster with more force. We like this video because: This video is good for studying. The […]
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Sunu : Karim Coulibaly
Karim Coulibaly (Featured as a guest soloist on Sega Sidibe’s most recent release) and another guy (possibly Sheik Oumar Traore) play Sunu in Bamako. The first guy plays his solo mostly with tones and closed slaps, just like they do in Kaarta, the area Sunu comes from. We like this video because: There are no dununs […]
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Farabakan : Sega Sidibe
This is a fantastic rendition of Farabakan, or “Kalabanka”, as Sega says it was originally called. According to a thread on djembefola.com, Sega has been known to say that this rhythm was played without dundun until more recently. So in this video, he gets to show the older version of the rhythm.
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Mendiani : Drissa Kone
For this rendition of Mendiani, Drissa Kone is accompanied by Jeremy Chevrier on djembe and Banou Sidibe on dunduns. Mendiani is one of Drissa’s strongest rhythms. He was fortunate enough to have learned much from Fasiriman Keita, the former drummer for Daba Keita. Daba is the Malian drummer and dancer credited with creating the Malinke group “Troupe Mendiani.” in the […]
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Mendiani : Madou Sako
This is a clean, solid rendition of Mendiani by Madou Sako and one dundun player on ballet style dunduns. Madou’s playing is really tasty. In this video, he plays pure, no-frills Mendiani without making it dry and boring. It’s very interesting to watch his basses in this video. Some cool stuff going on there. He […]
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Maraka : Mady Keita
Mady Keita goes through many root solo phrases for Maraka in this demonstration with Matche Traore playing konkoni. It’s a great video to study because the phrasing is very clear, even if it is somewhat dry.
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Maraka : Khalifa “Mao” Berthe
This video is from the Kangaba area south of Bamako. The guy’s name is Khalifa Berthe, but he is known as “Mao.” Before his death, Mao was one of the main drummers from Kangaba., He sure can play! This video demonstrates how with good timing and phrasing, and active accompaniment, an ensemble can play high-energy […]
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Ngri : Seydou Balo
Seydou Balo (deceased) plays a great demonstration of Ngri during a class held at the Djembe Hotel in Bamako, Mali. Seydou is from the Wassoulou region of Mali, and so is this rhythm, Ngri. He plays Ngri with a flavor that’s different from the way Bamako musicians play it today. Only Seydou plays djembe in this […]
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Village Djembe Documentary
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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]