Banning Eyre
Senior Editor, afropop.org

Host

World Music journalist and guitar guru Banning Eyre opens the evening with a brief guitar set, reminescent of his solo performance on March 13th at the Cornelia Street Cafe. He will then step into his role as host, introducing and contextualizing the music and musicians over the course of the evening. Author of instructional and analytical books, Eyre has also written for countless periodicals and websites, and he is Senior Editor at Afropop Worldwide. He has traveled extensively in Africa, and he has played with some of the greatest African superstars of all time, including Djelimady Tounkara and Thomas Mapfumo.

Talking Drum Music of the Dagomba from Northern Ghana

Dolsi-naa Abubakari Lunna traces his ancestry in drumming back for many generations. His father, Lun-naa Wombei, was one of the leading drummers of his era. Dolsi-naa Abubakari learned drumming from his father and his father’s brother, Mba Ngolba, as well as Baba Alaasani, Fuseini Namowo, and Issahaku Namowo, who became Namowo-naa, leader of all the drummers of Dagbon. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, Dolsi-naa Abubakari was the principal Dagomba drummer with the Ghana National Folkloric Company.

Dolsi-naa Abubakari Lunna
Drum Chief of Dagbon
with the Agbekor Society

The Fula Flute Ensemble
Super Griots of New York

Haunting sounds of the Fulani Flutes with relentless Manding Griot Grooves

At the heart of the Fula Flute Ensemble's unique sound is the little-known tambin, the flute of the Fulani people (also called Peulh) from Guinea. This tambin is specific to the Fouta Djallon highlands of Guinea, an area dominated by Peulh culture. It is noted for its characteristic voice/flute effects, its multi-phonics, and its relationship to musical language through storytelling. Beneath these layers lies the relentless musical foundation of Mande jelis. Born into a hereditary musicians' lineage, jelis are storytellers, genealogists, historians, and political and social advisors. They remain, to this day, counselors of kings and heads-of-state.

Djembe Orchestra Music from Mali and Senegal

Mamadou Guissé was born in Senegal, West Africa. At the age of 10 years old, he began studying African drum with his grandmother, Maimouna Keita. This training with his grandmother gave him a wealth of information about the culture, songs, history & rhythms of Mali. By the age of 16 years old, he was playing professionally with various dance companies. At the age of 21, he joined the Mandingue Epac Dance Company, which is one of the largest dance companies in Senegal. He is currently Music Director of the Maimouna Keita School of African Dance in Brooklyn, NY and regularly performs with his ensemble, Bakh Yaye.

Mamadou Guissé
with Bakh Yaye