After field testing and working closely with the Drum Factory and Ed Balma in Ubud, Bali for over a year we now have two new beautiful prototype MP Eco Pro wood djembe models ready for the market, a 12 ” and a 13″ (6ocm and 65cm) ! They will be distributed in the USA by X8. It’s been a long and windy road bringing these drums to fruition but here they are. [...]

Have you ever broken your skin on your drum or had your head pop on your djembe drum? I remember way back when I had just bought a new drum at a Mamady Keita workshop from Drumskulls. After the drum class when I arrived back home I put it in my kitchen and walked in the other room. I heard a loud bang. When I walked back in the head was completely ripped apart. What had I done? All I could do at the time was (sob) and call the goood guys down at the drum shop and drive all the way back to Santa Cruz from San Rafael (2 hours away). [...]

I recently received a 2 DVD set from Ultimate Guru Music Company in India of a very interesting musical percussion artist named Taufiqu Queresh. The first thing I noticed is the quality of the box, artwork and packaging. Very well done! When you open the box there is full color booklet attached to the box so you will not loose it. The design of this project was very well thought out. The book includes photos, credits and sound explanations. [...]

Panasonic’s DMC-TZ7 Hybrid Camera [...]

Learning music and dance from the African diaspora can be fun but also challenging at times. If you did not grow up listening, drumming or dancing to this music then it may take some time to learn. There are different ways we all learn. Some people learn best by math or numbers. Understanding how rhythms  and rhythm structures are formed and divided. I call this “math”. Others learn by feeling, or copying and repeateating. [...]

After I wrote my last blog post I went to the nightly drum circle here in Arambol Beach, Goa, India. It is quite large.

The drum circle usually starts off quite nicely before sunset but has been getting out of hand as the evening progresses. The drums entertain and also bring out the wild side of people, especially those who have been drinking all day prior to coming to watch,dance or drum!

drum jam [...]

A conga student asked me recently, “how do I take a solo when I am playing with a band and the band stops, and I am left by myself? No one else is playing, it is just me”? This is a great question and here is how I do it. [...]

One thing I have noticed in my many, many moons of drumming is that although someone may be trained in west african drumming music, djembe or dununs and technically be a great or at least a knowledgable djembe player or even drum teacher, it does not mean they know how or can play djembe solo or more accurately lead djembe for a dance class. [...]

West African hand drumming and specifically speaking, “traditional djembe drumming” is based on a system of fundamentals or “basics” just like any other type or form of drumming be it Indian, Afro Cuban, Brazilian or even the western drum set. There are rudiments or “basic fundamentals” of djembe playing that can be similar to drum set rudiments but also have some other important factors that are often missed in the learning process of many djembe players of all different levels. And what are djembe rudiments? They can consist of techinque, basic rhythm structure concepts, composition (how pieces are formed and go together), “the feel”, learning the basic djembe hand patterns and learning the dunun. It is also important to learn about the history of the music you are playing and the meaning of the pieces as well. I will discuss some of these items now. [...]

In all my years playing, studying and teaching West African rhythms and percussion I have always come across an interesting and challenging situation. It is really hard to find people, that is to say djembe players, other fellow percussionists or drum students who want to learn the dunun patterns, individual traditional dunun parts and or ballet arrangements on 2 or 3 dununs or more. dununs are also known as djun djuns, doun douns or [...]

After I wrote my last blog post I went to the nightly drum circle here in Arambol Beach, Goa, India. It is quite large.

The drum circle usually starts off quite nicely before sunset but has been getting out of hand as the evening progresses. The drums entertain and also bring out the wild side of people, especially those who have been drinking all day prior to coming to watch,dance or drum!

drum jam [...]

I am very happy and excited to tell you about an amazing new film documentary by Aja Salvatore called “Music In Mali: Life Is Hard, Music Is Good”. This feature-length documentary is about the musicians, dancers and everyday people of Mali who are creating inspiring heartfelt music in some of the most difficult living conditions of West Africa. [...]

Let’s face the facts. Until Mamady Keita arrived in the USA we were playing djembe ass backwards. For example, Mandiani was more often then not being played  backwards as Soli, (Donba in Senegal) or visa versa. We were doing the best we could at the time as there was very limited  resources available in the late 70′s and very few instructors as well. It was prior to the internet and consumer cmcorders were still [...]

After field testing and working closely with the Drum Factory and Ed Balma in Ubud, Bali for over a year we now have two new beautiful prototype MP Eco Pro wood djembe models ready for the market, a 12 ” and a 13″ (6ocm and 65cm) ! They will be distributed in the USA by X8. It’s been a long and windy road bringing these drums to fruition but here they are. [...]

My first trip to Africa was to Mali ,West Africa. I was always scared to go to Africa even though all my friends and students had already gone and the reports were always very positive. I was scared of getting sick. I heard the horror stories of people getting sick there, the poor hospitals, bad conditions and everything else. But in the back of my mind since I first started playing in the 70′s I knew I would go, I knew I had to go. I was just waiting for the right timing, [...]

One thing I have noticed in my many, many moons of drumming is that although someone may be trained in west african drumming music, djembe or dununs and technically be a great or at least a knowledgable djembe player or even drum teacher, it does not mean they know how or can play djembe solo or more accurately lead djembe for a dance class. [...]

In December I will be teaching a very fun and relaxed two week workshop in West African drumming, djembe, dununs and “non competitive” drumming for all levels in the very beautifu, peaceful and exotic village of Arambol , Goa, India. All levels of drummers are welcomed and you do not have to take the entire course. [...]

I have had the great opportunity to know and to have been playing for Lasensua for over 20 years or more. I first met her on the Big Island of Hawaii. Lasensua has lived, studied & performed in many areas of the world. Her travels started in 1974, when she became immersed in Hawaiian culture through their music & “Hula” dance. She has journeyed to Brazil, Cuba, West Africa, Caribbean, Tahiti, India & Indonesia to live and study dance on location. [...]

Many people often ask me “what was it like to study and travel in Guinee”? And “where did you like better Guinee or Mali”? I love both places to study and live but for different reasons. In Guinee I stayed with the late great Kemoko Sano and his family at his compound in Merveilles. I went to Guinea with an old friend who was traveling with me in Mali. But my friend did not like it there so he left after a few days to another compound. It was very interesting for me to stay in a place where no one spoke english except my teacher whose english was barely understandable at best. [...]

We are looking for a talented multi disciplined dance teacher  for a new world dance , movement and world music center/studio on the beautiful and exotic Koh Samui Island in scenic Thailand. If you can teach salsa, brazilian, west african and more please contact us soon. The center is just forming now. Other dance teachers and people in the movement arts are welcomed to contact us as well. We will also be offering classes [...]

“The courage to meet and talk with people is absolutely crucial. Choosing dialogue is itself the triumph of peace and humanity.” (Daisaku Ikeda) [...]