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, who was one of Aaron’s first djembe teachers as well.
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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 Mend...
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Seydou Balo and Drissa Kone play Ngri in Bamako. They each solo with their own unique style. We like this video because: Seydou and Drissa both play with their own unique style. It's nice to see the contrast. ...
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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 d...
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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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Drissa Kone and Sedou Balo have fun warming up before a ceremony in Bamako. What a team! We like this video because: Contrast. These guys have really different styles. In Suku, we can learn a lot from watching...
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Ahhh.. Madou Sako. Really tasty and melodic stuff in this video. He starts clowning around a bit toward the middle of the video and then brings it back ’round for the grand finale! We like this video because: ...
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Matche and his teacher Souleye Sidibe play djembe solo for Dansa. Matche plays in a very "Bamako" style and Souleye plays in a very "Wassolon" style. We like this video because: We love these videos where two p...
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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...
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Kantara Sakho demonstrates a rootsy rendition of Sunu under a tree with his baye fall apprentice in Malicounda, near Mbour, Senegal. We like this video because: Kantara is originally from Kaarta, and so is this...
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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, an...
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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 ge...
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Nice playing on low-tuned djembes in Marena, a village north of Kita, Mali. More and more villagers from this region have been uploading videos of their villages' festivities. There's a young player in the group wi...
