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johne · 03-12-2009, 12:23 AM

Drumming: You can’t have a thread on West African music without paying some attention to drumming. While there are many African drums, I’m going to focus on djembe drumming in this post, but will say something about dunan and tamani drumming.

Djembe (or jembe), is a goblet shaped hand drum. Traditionally, a djembe was used alone, but more often with other types of drums, to summon people to dance. Similar to contemporary break dancing, during drumming sessions, people jump in and out from the crowd, taking turns dancing. Here is a contemporary rendition of the traditional drummer/dancer interaction:
YouTube - "ALLSTAR"! Gala Spectac: Guinee Dununba w "best of the best" players!

Throughout WA, there are hundreds of rhythms that djembe drummers and ensembles play. The above is an example of Dununba (always fast and strong beat), and within Dununba, there are 20 or more sub-rhythms.

West African djembe drumming became well-known throughout Africa and the world, largely because country governments sponsored international tours of djembe troupes (e.g., "Les Ballets Africains" from Guinea). Eventually, the emphasis began to be placed on the drummers more than on the dancers, so that today, there are master djembe drummers who perform stage concerts in front of large audiences. Probably the best known is Mamady Keita from Guinea:
YouTube - Mamady Keita in "Djembefola"- documentary

More contemporary djembe drummers include Fatala, a troupe from Guinea which has a number of full tracks on last.fm:
Fatala â€“ Listen free and discover music at Last.fm

Farfina is a troupe from Burkina Faso and has a myspace page where their drumming can be heard (I especially like “Percus”):
FARAFINA on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

Dunan is another type of drum—a double-headed cylinder that comes in 3 sizes and provides the rhythmic and melodic base for djembe ensembles. (While the djembe is the “show off” featured drum, the dunan sets the rhythm for most numbers.) Baba Olatunji, from Nigeria, played both dunan and djembe drums and is probably the African who had the first and most influence on percussion in European, American, and other Western music. His “Drums of Passion” album, released in 1959, has been very influential among percussionists and other musicians throughout the world. John Coltrane, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Quincy Jones all recognized elements of Olatunji’s influence in their music, and he played with the likes of Mickey Hart, Carlos Santana, the Grateful Dead, and Airto Moreira.

Tamani (or tama) is a small drum held under the armpit of the drummer, who beats the drum with one bare hand and a stick held in the other hand. The best tamani drummer is probably Baba Sissoko from Mali. This guy is incredible and worth a listen:
MySpace Video - Baba Sissoko's Video Channel & Video Clips

03-12-2009, 12:23 AM	#18 (permalink)
johne Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Long Island, NY, USA Posts: 114	Drumming: You can’t have a thread on West African music without paying some attention to drumming. While there are many African drums, I’m going to focus on djembe drumming in this post, but will say something about dunan and tamani drumming. Djembe (or jembe), is a goblet shaped hand drum. Traditionally, a djembe was used alone, but more often with other types of drums, to summon people to dance. Similar to contemporary break dancing, during drumming sessions, people jump in and out from the crowd, taking turns dancing. Here is a contemporary rendition of the traditional drummer/dancer interaction: YouTube - "ALLSTAR"! Gala Spectac: Guinee Dununba w "best of the best" players! Throughout WA, there are hundreds of rhythms that djembe drummers and ensembles play. The above is an example of Dununba (always fast and strong beat), and within Dununba, there are 20 or more sub-rhythms. West African djembe drumming became well-known throughout Africa and the world, largely because country governments sponsored international tours of djembe troupes (e.g., "Les Ballets Africains" from Guinea). Eventually, the emphasis began to be placed on the drummers more than on the dancers, so that today, there are master djembe drummers who perform stage concerts in front of large audiences. Probably the best known is *Mamady Keita* from Guinea: YouTube - Mamady Keita in "Djembefola"- documentary More contemporary djembe drummers include *Fatala, a troupe from Guinea which has a number of full tracks on last.fm: Fatala â€“ Listen free and discover music at Last.fm Farfina* is a troupe from Burkina Faso and has a myspace page where their drumming can be heard (I especially like “Percus”): FARAFINA on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads Dunan is another type of drum—a double-headed cylinder that comes in 3 sizes and provides the rhythmic and melodic base for djembe ensembles. (While the djembe is the “show off” featured drum, the dunan sets the rhythm for most numbers.) *Baba Olatunji, from Nigeria, played both dunan and djembe drums and is probably the African who had the first and most influence on percussion in European, American, and other Western music. His “Drums of Passion” album, released in 1959, has been very influential among percussionists and other musicians throughout the world. John Coltrane, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Quincy Jones all recognized elements of Olatunji’s influence in their music, and he played with the likes of Mickey Hart, Carlos Santana, the Grateful Dead, and Airto Moreira. Tamani (or tama)* is a small drum held under the armpit of the drummer, who beats the drum with one bare hand and a stick held in the other hand. The best tamani drummer is probably *Baba Sissoko* from Mali. This guy is incredible and worth a listen: MySpace Video - Baba Sissoko's Video Channel & Video Clips __________________ http://www.last.fm/user/jenyc Last edited by johne; 03-20-2009 at 12:12 PM.