Nankama - Mamady’s first book - A Life for the Djembe

Twenty-five traditional rhythms, including nine dunumba rhythms as well as farming, initiation, wedding and many others. This collection adds to Mamady’s first book, A Life for the Djembe.

There are 47 rhythms that are new creations and adaptions. Most are by Mamady with a few from various ballets for which he has played. Here Mamady takes his decades of experience and weaves a new musical tradition. In this tradition we know not only the meaning and use of the rhythms, but also who created them. His naming of the rhythms is also beautiful. Examples include Hakili (Spirit), Bonya (Respect) and Djigui (Hope). Amongst the creations are seven new dunumba rhythms!

http://nankamabook.com/

Mamady Keita Health Update & Medical Donation Fund

*** post fully transfered from http://www.ttmusa.org ***

As some of you know, Mamady Keita was recently hospitalized in France with pulmonary edema, a serious condition brought on by his congestive heart disease. We are happy to report that he is doing well and chilling out for the month of February in Brussels. He is planning to return to San Diego in early March and resume his spring workshop schedule in the U.S., and then begin the Grand Masters Tour with Famoudou Konate in May. For updated info please visit: www.ttmusa.org.
 

Medical Donation Fund to Help Mamady 

For those of you who have expressed a desire to help, TTM USA has created a Medical Donation Fund to help Mamady with his medical expenses and debt incurred from his hospitalization. Note: Donations are tax-deductible in the U.S. and 100% of proceeds will go to Mamady.

To Donate On-line: http://www.ttmmarket.org/donate.asp.

Or mail a check to TTM USA, Attn: Medical Fund, P. O. Box 83164, San Diego, CA 92138.

Send Mamady Your Well Wishes
Your prayers and well wishes are greatly appreciated. If you would like to send a message to Mamady you can do so on his Facebook Fan Page, he really does read them!!!  Copy and paste this link into your web browser: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mamady-Keïta/53555486626.  Or email a message to him at info@ttmusa.org.

*** post fully transfered from http://www.ttmusa.org ***

Mamady Keita & Sewa Kan - Hakili

It was in December 2007 when Mamady first shared his desire to celebrate, as he should, his 50 years of musical career. The most beautiful way to celebrate this event would be together with his fans during a European concert tour in the summer of 2009.
For this project, Mamady wanted by his side his mythic group Sewa Kan, his bodyguards, among them Babara Bangoura on djembe, Souleymane Camara on djembe, Cece Koly on sangban, Youssouf Traore on dunumba, Mama Adama Camara as dancer, Bebey Youla as singer and dancer, and Monette Marino-Keita on kenkeni.
But in his head he had already planted the seed of a much more ambitious performance for which he wanted to evolve his music beyond just the percussion with a palette of musicians much larger.
His choice to bring in Djelimady Kouyate on balafon, Prince Diabate on kora, Baba Toure on djembe, Kandet Kouyate on vocals and the cherry on top, Manu Hermia on saxophone and flute, the only European musician in this whole adventure.

Mamady Keita - Grandmaster of the djembe, World’s most famous djembe Master

Mamady Keita was born in 1950 in Balandugu, a small village in Guinea, West Africa, near the border of Mali. Even before his birth his mother was told that his name would travel beyond Balandugu, beyond Guinea and beyond all of Africa. She did not know what that meant until Mamady was born and before he could even walk he would turn over anything that looked like a bowl and he would start hitting it like a drum. It was from that point on that his parents knew he was destined to be a djembe player and gave him the nickname nankama, born for it, and brought him to study with the Master Drummer of his village, Karinkadjan Konde.

In 1957, Mamady was initiated into the secrets of the djembe and to the history of his people, the Mandingue. In 1963, he was taken to perform in the regional ballet, about 150 km from his home and in 1964, he was taken 2000 km away to the capital city Conakry where the President of Guinea, Sekou Toure was working with Harry Belafonte to produce the National Ballet of Guinea, Ballet National Djoliba. He was one of 50 percussionists who auditioned during 9 months of training and in the end was one of the final 5 who made it into the Ballet. At only 14 years of age, Mamady was by far the youngest member of the National Ballet. That same year he starred in the Harry Belafonte film, Africa Dance.

Mamady remained in the National Ballet until 1986, during which time he won gold medals in many International and Pan-African Festivals and was also named Best African Drummer. He went on to become the djembe soloist and lead drummer of Ballet Djoliba and in 1979 was named as Artistic Director. He created many of the musical repertoires used in the Ballets and trained many of the worlds top djembe players.

In 1986, Mamady decided to make his personal mark in the world by breaking out of the Ballet and establishing himself as an independent drummer. He moved to the Ivory Coast where he joined Souleymane Kolis group Koteba and performed next to such renowned African stars as Toure‚ Kunda of Senegal, and Mory Kante of Guinea. During his stay in Ivory Coast, Mamady starred in another movie, titled La Vie Platine, and also wrote and recorded the entire sound track.

When Mamady’s name began to travel beyond West Africa, a group of percussionists in Belgium decided to bring him into Europe to teach and perform. That happened in 1988 with a non-profit organization called Zig-Zag. In cooperation, Mamady helped open a school of percussion which they called Repercussions, and later that same year, Mamady established his own performance ensemble, Sewa Kan. The name refers to a Malinke proverb which says Without music there is no joy, but without joy there is no music.

In 1991, Mamady decided it was time to go his own way and he established his own percussion school which he called Tam Tam Mandingue, drums of the Manding. Over the 20 years that bring us up to the present year 2011, Mamady produced 11 cds, 8 instructional video/DVDs, a book (Mamady Keita: A Life For the Djembe), several documentary films (including internationally acclaimed Djembefola, by Laurent Chevalier), and extended his percussion school to include 18 branches across the globe (France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Japan, USA, Israel). Each year Mamady travels to these countries to teach workshops and perform with Sewa Kan. 

Mamady also brings students to Guinea every winter or to mini-Guinea in CA, to participate in a 3 week drum camp at his house in Conakry. He currently resides with his wife Monette Marino Keita and daughter Nasira in San Diego, California.

Article taken from http://www.grandmasterstour.com/

New Live DVD & Bonus CD Mamady Keita & Sewa Kan "Hakili"

Mamady & friends celebrate 50 years of his amazing career! Live video and audio recordings from Mamady Keita & Sewa Kan's 2009 European Tour! This super-group of Malinke musicians features Mamady Keita, Babara Bangoura, Soulemane "Cobra" Camara, Baba Toure, Monette Keita, Cece Koly, Prince Diabate, & Djelimady Kouyate. Over 100 minutes of performance video; for the first time available NTSC North American Format! BONUS: a full length CD is included.

Djembefora accepts orders for this new amazing DVD.

Famoudou Konate & Mamady Keita together! Grandmasters Tour USA

Nakon što su prošlih godina posjetili Zagreb (u organizaciji Djembefora), dva slavna djembe majstora, učitelj i njegov učenik, ponovno su se udružili i rade radionice u Americi. 

   

TAM TAM MANDINGUE IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE

GRANDMASTERS MINI-GUINEA WORKSHOP 

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, USA
JUNE 19TH - JULY 2ND, 2011   

Famoudou Konate' and Mamady Keita 

TWO Grandmasters Co-Teaching for the first time

a Historic Two-Week Drum Intensive

Registration is now Open

  Two Grandmasters Come Together!

Brothers in the Mandingue Djembe Tradition!

     

Famoudou Konate', a world-renowned virtuoso of the djembe and its orchestra. One of only a handful of initiated Masters of the Malinké drumming tradition, from Hamanah, the birthplace of the Dunumba family of rhythms.

Mamady Keita, an initiated Master whose mission has helped bring the djembe to every continent, making it a global instrument. Founder of Tam Tam Mandingue, the only international school of West African percussion.

Two Master Teachers - Ambassadors of Music, Culture, Joy and Peace. Few have done more to spread the music and unifying message of the djembe throughout the world!

San Diego Mini-Guinea Workshop Structure

This is a 2-week djembe intensive with two levels; each will have one 4-hour class per day, Mon - Fri. Famoudou & Mamady will rotate days with each group so that each has 5 classes with each master for a total of 40 hours of instruction.

  

Group A: Intermediate Students, approximately 3 or more years of consistent study. 10:00-14:00pm (10am-2pm).

Group B: Advanced Students, approximately 5 or more years of consistent study.  15:00 -19:00 pm (3pm-7pm).  

Students should select either Group A or Group B when registering and are encouraged to choose honestly and modestly. If you're not sure which group to choose, please contact us for a simple discussion of what is best for you. The Masters may re-assign students to a different level at their discretion.

Cost: Register/pay by May 1st and save $100!

Due to the historic nature of this event, we expect a sell-out, so early registration will secure your spot. Please note, prices are for workshop only. Lodging, Accomodations, Travel, and Food are the responsibility of each student. TTM SD will provide information on various lodging options in San Diego.

*Registration/Payment by May 1st: $900

*Registration/Payment after May 1st: $1000

 Deposit: $400 (includes $50 non-refundable registration fee)

  

Full Details & Schedule including registration form will be posted on our website by March 15th. We are sending the registration form in a separate email for those who are ready to register now.

Contact: Monette Marino-Keita, morhythm@yahoo.com for more info.  

Mamady Keita signature series djembes

Following the death of his personal djembe makers, Mamady spent long years without finding other people able to sculpt an instrument that matched not only by the aesthetics; but above all, the sound that fitted him.

For about 15 years, Jeremy Tomasck has been experimenting with the djembe as well as it’s making, first as a beginner drummer and rapidly as a repairer too…

He carries out a deep research in sound, along with tree-trunk sculptors and skin mounters( in Belgium, Guinea and Mali) ; following, of course, Mamady’s advice.

For about 5 years now, Jeremy has reached such fine quality in assembling his djembes that his master now plays them!

*photo from Zagreb djembe workshops Playing these instruments awakened Mamady’s curiosity, who then wished to meet the sculptors. Convinced by that team’s work, he then proposed to Jeremy to create a limited edition series of professional djembes  (40 pieces). The instruments go through several quality checks, but in the end, Mamady alone decides if a djembe is Worth being part of the series, he’s the ultimate quality checker. Price : 1000€ + Shipping Fees (depending on what area of the world) Contact & Information : Jeremytomasck@mamadykeita.com

 source: http://www.ttmusa.org/

Upcoming new tours 2010 - Mamady Keita & Sewa Kan

www.zigzagworld.be

www.netkit.fr/zigzagworld/siteweb/cadre.asp

'Nema problema!' - zagrebški vikend z Mamadyjem je za nami

Prenosimo sa www.djembe.si post naše prijateljice Anje iz Ljubljane, koja je napisala članak o protekloj radionici s Mamadijem. Fotografije su od Uroša iz Ljubljane, www.djembe.si.

'Nema problema!' - zagrebški vikend z Mamadyjem je za nami
Objavljeno: 24.7.2008 12:46 na www.djembe.si by Anja, link na originalni post je tukaj.

Slabo leto je že skoraj minilo od čisto prve najave, da bo svetovno znani gvinejski glasbenik Mamady Keita obiskal Zagreb, kjer bo, 19. in 20. julija , pod njegovim vodstvom potekala vikend delavnica zahodnofriškega bobnanja. Želja po novem znanju in za večino tudi želja osebno spoznati velikega djembefolaja, nas je sedaj, ko je ta vikend le prišel na vrsto, v sosednjo prestolnico zbobnala dokaj veliko število djembe navdušencev, od tega kar devet slovenskih intuziastov.

Naš mednarodni 'Mamady Keita vikend' je v soboto dopoldne otvorila delavnica na kateri so novo znanje pridobivali začetniki. Po simpatičnem govornem uvodu s katerim jih je Mamady pozdravil, so z ritmom 'Kassa' počasi prebili led treme in se nato v dveh urah naučili osnovni aranžma ritma 'Kono'. Po premoru za kosilo smo svoje dlani ogreli še nadaljevalci in tri-urni termin, v katerem smo spoznali osnove in aranžma ritma 'Sofa', so minile kot bi trenil.

Skupna večerja, ki je sledila, je bila idealna priložnost za spoznavanje, navezovanje novih prijateljstev, klepet o skupnih interesih in pogovor z Mamadyjem o njegovi kulturi, inštrumentu in zahodnoafriški glasbi. Medkulturno ozračje, v katerem je bilo zaslediti angleški, italijanski in francoski jezik na enem koncu omizja, ter slovenskega in hrvaškega na vseh straneh, je ustvarjalo zanimiv in sproščen ambient, ki smo ga nadaljevali ob pijači v centru Zagreba. V poznih urah smo nato, z ozirom na naslednji delovni dan, le zaključili naše druženje in se odpravili spat.

V nedeljo zjutraj je začetniška skupina ob desetih in pol že veselo bobnala in se naučila novega ritma iz zakladnice obširnega zahodnoafriškega repertoarja – 'Sarankin', nadeljevalci pa smo v nedeljskem popoldnevu pod Mamadyevo taktirko in ob energični spremljavi njegovega osebnega asistenta Jeremyja, ki ga je na dundunih spremljal ves čas delavnic, širili svoje znanje z osnovami in zanimivimi 'breaki' (t.i. prehodi) priljubljenega ritma 'Zauli'. V ta stari tradicionalni ritem, ki izvira iz Slonokoščene obale, je Mamady vključil svoj aranžma devetih bolj in manj kompleksnih prehodov, od katerih smo se mi tokrat naučili treh. Kar dobro so nam uspeli zmesti glavo, utrujenost je ob koncu že počasi načenjala koncentracijo, zato je bila pogostitev, ki jo je naša Nina ob koncu pripravila na čast svojega rojstnega dne, več kot dobrodošla.

Po vsesplošnem fotografiranju z Mamadyjem in besedi ali dveh ob torti in pivu, so ljudje počasi začeli odhajati vsak na svoj konec. Z željami po ponovnem snidenju smo se počasi poslovili, peščica lačnih nas je skupaj z Mamadyjem in Jeremyjem odšla še na večerjo v bližnjo restavracijo in kmalu je bil tudi za nas čas, da se, bogatejši za novo izkušnjo, odpravimo na pot proti Ljubljani.

Za nami je lep in poučen vikend, pred nami pa kar nekaj novega materiala za domače vaje :) Kljub temu, da tokratna Mamadyjeva delavnica ni bila tako kompleksna kot tista, ki sva se jo z Urošem udeležila v Italiji, lahko rečem, da mi je ta dala veliko več. Morda je 'kriva' manjša skupina in temu primerno bolj intimno in sproščeno ozračje, morda so bile to navdihujoče besede, ki jih je tokrat Mamady velikodušno delil z nami, ko je razlagal o svoji kulturni in glasbeni tradiciji, zagotovo pa je svoje dodalo tudi živahno in prijetno druženje z našimi hrvaškimi bobnarskimi prijatelji.

Zato se ob tej priložnosti iskreno zahvaljujem njim za odlično družbo, Martinu, ki nam je prijateljsko ponudil prenočišče in, seveda, Željku in njegovi ekipi, ki so celotno dogajanje izvrstno in na nivoju zorganizirali. In tako kot nas je, ljudi različnih nacij, ta boben povezal v Zagrebu, upam, da nas bo povezoval še naprej in da nas kmalu spet kje združi. Do takrat pa: Doviđenja, au revoir, arrivederci, na svidenje in … see you soon! ;)

Mamady Keita Zagreb – Kratka reportaža z delavnice na HRT1
Mamady Keita Zagreb – Fotogalerija 01 (foto: Julijo in Sandra)
Mamady Keita Zagreb – Fotogalerija 02 (foto: Uroš Čokl) – v pripravljanju
Mamady Keita Zagreb – Fotogalerija 03 (foto: Martin Turšić) – v pripravljanju

Objavljeno: 24.7.2008 12:46 na www.djembe.si by Anja, link na originalni post je tukaj.

HTV1 Dobro jutro Hrvatska - Mamady Keita Zagreb

TV reportaža s radionice 19-20.07.2008. objavljena na HTV1 u emisiji Dobro jutro Hrvatska, hvala Marijani i Ireni s HTV-a.

Poslije radionice s Mamadijem

Radionica s Mamady Keitom je iza nas. Kratko, ali veoma ugodno i korisno iskustvo, neprocjenjivo. Lijepo je između ostalog bilo proširiti mrežu prijatelja i svirača djembea, koji su nakon ove radionice sigurno još odlučniji i zainteresiraniji za sviranjem djembea.
Mamady je obećao da će se vratiti, već ga iščekujemo :-)


Hvala Sandri i Juliju na već poslanim i objavljenim fotografijama - Djembe kutak galerija.

Mamady Keita's solo in Okay Temiz Ritim Atolyesi Concert

Mamady Keita's solo in Okay Temiz Ritim Atolyesi Concert on February 11, 2008. (Venue: Istanbul TIM Maslak Show Center, Turkey) Okay Temiz Ritim Atolyesi is the first and the best rhythm school in Turkey leaded by acclaimed percussion artist and drummer Okay Temiz. Every year an annual concert is organized for Okay Temiz's birthday and different percussion artists from all over the world (including Mamady Keita, Adama Drame, Trilok Gurtu, Yamar Thiam, Carlo Rizzo, Stoyan Yankoulov, Elitsa Todorova ) come to play with Okay Temiz Ritim Atolyesi.


To je prava rođendanska svirka :-)

Mamady Keïta & N'Toman Keita (1st concert of Sewa Kan 1989)

Here you see some parts fom the first concert of Sewa Kan, filmed by the Djansa-crew. The concert was in Brussels in 1989. Great Djembe-master N'Toman Keïta was member of Sewa Kan in those days.

Mamady Keita - Zagreb Djembe Workshop

Najava radionice od Mamady Keite osobno:

Pozdrav iz Conakryja

Pozdrav iz Conakryja nam šalje Martin preko svog photo bloga, s radionice u gostima kod Mamady Keite. Martin, Nenad i Kruno upravo ostvaruju jedan od svojih snova: provode vrijeme u Gvineji svirajući djembe s najpoznatijim majstorom djembea.

Mamady Keita Drum Camp January 2008

Experience the rhythms and music of West Africa!

January 5th-26th, 2008

Mamady Keita, one of the greatest djembe players in the world, will host 28 students for 3 weeks in Drum Camp at his home in Conakry, Guinea, in the heart of the Mandingue.

Good luck to Croatian trio. Three brave man will bring back to us experience and partly soul of Africa.

A Life for the Djembe: Traditional Rhythms of the Malinke

Knjiga koju smo nedavno nabavili i koja nas je oduševila, Mamady Keita "A Life for the Djembe: Traditional Rhythms of the Malinke" . Na jednom mjestu sve o Mamady Keiti, njegovom pogledom na kulturu i tradiciju, Gvineji, Malinke, povijest, te 60 ritmova koje bi svaki djembefola morao znati, u notaciji, ali i na priloženom CD-u.

Preporučujemo!

Mamady Keita Zagreb, satnica i cijene

Dragi djembe svirači,
djembe radionice Mamady Keite u Zagrebu bliže se brže nego što mislite :-)
Desno možete vidjeti odbrojavanje do radionice, go do.. go do.. go do.. go do.. go do..

NOVO
Satnica i cijene su objavljene na službenim stranicama:
www.MamadyKeitaZagreb.com

Preporučujemo early bird uplate.
Vaše registracije i dalje očekujemo.
djembefora@gmail.com

Mamady Keita, Zagreb, 19-20.07.2008

www.MamadyKeitaZagreb.com