Mamady Keïta (surname sometimes also spelled Keita; b. Balandougou, Siguiri Prefecture, Kankan Region, Guinea, August 1950) is a master drummer from the West African nation of Guinea. He specializes in the goblet-shaped hand drum called djembe. He is also the founder of the Tam Tam Mandingue school of drumming. He is a member of theManding ethnic group.
| Mamady Keita Biography |
Early History & Childhood
Mamady Keïta was born in 1950 in Balandugu, (Guinea, West Africa), a village of Wassolon, near the Fé River. His father was a master hunter and a fida tigi (master of the plants--a healer). His mother, wishing to know the destiny of the child that she was carrying, consulted a soothsayer who announced that it would be her last son: “The child must be left to amuse himself because it is there that he will make is name.” When he was old enough to crawl, Mamady descended on all the pots and pans in order to turn them over and beat on them. “My son will therefore be a djembefola” his mother said to herself, and she had an instrument constructed to his size. Very quickly he surprised everyone by his natural gifts. No one could believe their ears and they would ask themselves how such a small boy could draw such a sound from a drum. Mamady “Nankama” (Mamady-who-was-born-for-that), and “Balandugudjina” (the devil of Balandugu) are his two nicknames.
Mamady was taught and initiated into the history of the Mandeng and its music by Karinkadjan Kondé, an old djembefola (djembe player) of his village; in Malinke they say “Words come forth from an old mouth to enter a new ear.” Curious about everything, he would not rest until he knew all the rhythms of the Wassolon, and then of the Mandeng and those of the neighboring ethnic groups.
National Ballet Djoliba
Sekou Touré, the president of Guinea until his death in 1984, wished to spotlight Guinean Culture through music and dance, and organized a system of local, regional and national competitions that would attract the best artists of the land into the National Ballets of Guinea. Out of over 500 competitors, Mamady Keita, at the age of just 14, was selected as one of five percussionists, and one of only three djembe players. Mamady was the youngest member of the 45 artists that comprised the National Ballet Djoliba, and was named lead djembe soloist at age 15. At 17 the young drummer was cast in a Harry Belafonte film titled “Africa Dance.” After 15 years in the Ballet Djoliba, at the age of 29, Mamady became the Artistic Director and fulfilled this function until 1986 when he left the Ballet for good; this was the first time that a drummer was given the position of Artistic Director. For over 20 years Mamady travelled around the world with Djoliba, only resting between tours for short periods in his native country.
Desiring to get out of the cocoon formed by the ballet and to establish his own name as an independent musician, he joined Souleymane Koli’s “Koteba” based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He stayed with the band for a year and a half and completed two more world tours. It was in this period that he was cast in his second movie, “La Vie Platinée.”
Mamady Establishes a Global Presence
By 1988 Mamady’s name began to travel beyond West Africa. A group of percussionists in Belgium who had a non-profit organization called Zig Zag negotiated to bring Mamady to Brussels to teach and perform at their music school, Repercussions. Later that same year, Mamady established his own performance ensemble, Sewa Kan. The name refers to a Malinke proverb which says, “Ni kan tiyen, sewa tiyen. Ni sewa tiyen, kantiyen,” translated: “Without music there is no joy, without joy there is no music.”
In 1989 Mamady recorded his first album with Sewa Kan titled Wassolon, produced by Zig Zag and Fonti Musicali in Brussels. He has gone on to record an additional 11 performance cds both individually and with Sewa Kan. (see “Mamady Keita Discography” below)
Bringing International Students to Africa
Mamady is the first percussionist to organize a drum and dance workshop in collaboration with the Republic of Guinea’s Secretary of Arts & Culture; his first camp in 1990 was officially recognized as an international cultural exchange and 35 European students were hosted by the Secretary of Arts & Culture in Conakry for an intensive 4-week drum and dance camp. Mamady has continued to bring students to his Guinea camp since 1990.
Tam Tam Mandingue, the first International School of Percussion
In 1991, Mamady opened his own school of percussion in Brussels, Belgium called Tam Tam Mandingue, “drums of the Manding”. The school rapidly gained an international reputation and in just a few years he opened branches in Paris, Munich, Conakry, USA, Japan and Israel. Today there are over a dozen Tam Tam Mandingue schools around the world.
Djembefola: Mamady’s Life Featured in an Award-Winning Documentary
Also in 1991, Mamady’s life story was put on the big screen in an award-winning documentary film titled “Djembefola, the Man Who Makes the Djembe Speak”. Directed by Laurent Chevallier, this film introduces us to Mamady Keita, the world’s greatest djembe player and shares his magical and emotional journey back to his birth village of Balandugu, (Guinea) after a 26-year absence. In the film Mamady hears from his older brother how the local soothsayer predicted his destiny when he was still in his mother’s womb. The film won several international awards and propelled the culture of the djembe around the world.
In 1994, Japanese producer Nonoue Katsuo from Sponichi Creates, produced a documentary film titled “Mamady Keita and 38 little hands” which followed Mamady to a tiny island in the far south of Japan, called Mishima, where Mamady took 16 Japanese children under his wing to teach them the culture and music of the djembe. Together, Mamady and these 38 little hands traveled north to perform in Japan’s largest cities but in the end had to say a very emotional goodbye.
1995 – 2005: Mamady Records/Produces An Astonishing 8 CDs, 3 Instructional DVDs, a Book, and Documentary Film
In 1995, Fonti Musicali and Mamady Keita traveled to Conakry, Guinea to produce a LIVE recording titled Mogobalu, featuring two of Guinea’s elder djembe masters, Fadouba Oulare and Famoudou Konate. This double disc also features many of Guinea’s finest vocalists and musicians playing such traditional instruments as the Balafon, Kora, Bolon, and Flute. In 1996, they returned again to Conakry, Guinea to record a second LIVE album titled Hamanah, featuring djembe master Famoudou Konate. This album is dedicated to the rhythms that belong to the dununba family of rhythms: “the dances of strong men.”
In 1998, in addition to recording his fifth album, Afo, he also released a series of instructional videos produced by Sponichi Creates and Nonoue Katsuo of Japan. In January of 1999, Sponichi Creates produced a second documentary film, which followed four very lucky Japanese children together with Mamady as they return to Mamady’s birth village, Balandugu. Once in his village, the children took classes with Mamady side by side with local children and at the end of one week they all performed together for the surrounding villages in a great celebration.
Later that same year, “Mamady Keita: A Life for the Djembe”, a book co-written by Mamady Keita and Uschi Billimeier of Germany, was published by Arun-Verlag. The book is not only practical, with 60 rhythms notated and an instructional cd with 21 rhythms included, but it also gives historical and cultural information on the instruments and the rhythms themselves. Today a bestseller, it is regarded as the best reference on the djembe and traditional rhythms, and is on its fifth edition and available now in 4 languages (German, French, English and Japanese). Back in Brussels, Director Laurent Chevallier produced a second documentary film titled“Mogobalu” in which Mamady discusses what it is to be a Master drummer, from initiation and knowing the secrets of the djembe to the responsibilities of passing on this tradition to the next generation and ensuring its survival. This film features excerpts from an extraordinary concert with Mamady & Sewa Kan at Couleur Café in Brussels, recorded in 1998. In this concert, some of Africa’s greatest musicians are featured including, Manu Dibango, Mory Kante, Kadja Nin, Paco Seri, Doudou N’Diaye Rose, Famoudou Konate and Soungalo Coulibaly.
In 2003, Mamady began making his transition from Europe to the United States. In collaboration with Tam Tam Mandingue USA, he produced a video (now available on DVD) titled “DjembeKan” (the sound of the djembe), which features four solo performances captured during his teaching tours in the United States from 1998-2002. These recordings offer a rare look at Mamady’s homage to the master drummer who initiated him, and take the viewer on a musical journey beyond this universe, showing the true power of the djembe and Mamady’s incredible gift as a master drummer.
With his move to the United States, Mamady also set up his own production company, Djembefola Productions, which has allowed him to manufacture and distribute past and future products around the world.
2006 – Present: Mamady Continues His Work Today
Mamady’s home base and headquarters for Tam Tam Mandingue is located in San Diego, California, USA. He continues to spend many months of the year traveling the world and carrying out his mission to preserve and share the tradition and the music of the djembe. In addition to his workshops all over the globe, Mamady offers a 2-week intensive drum workshop in the US each year, as well as a camp in Guinea, West Africa. For information on Mamady’s international schedule, click on Mamady Keita Calendar. For more information on Mamady, visit www.mamadykeita.com . To purchase Mamady’s CDs, DVDs, and Book please visit: www.ttmmarket.org
Discography & Videography By Year
1989: Mamady recorded his first album, Wassalon, with his group Sewa Kan, produced by Zig Zag & Fonti Musicali in Belgium.
1992: Mamady released his second album titled Nankama featuring Sewa Kan, produced by Fonti Musicali.
1995: Fonti Musicali and Mamady traveled to Conakry, Guinea to produce a LIVE recording titled Mogobalu, featuring two of Guinea’s elder djembe masters, Fadouba Oulare and Famoudou Konate. This double disc also features many of Guinea’s finest vocalists and musicians playing such traditional instruments as the Balafon, Kora, Bolon, and Flute.
1996: Mamady returned to Conakry, Guinea to record a second LIVE album titled Hamanah, which features djembe master Famoudou Konate. This album is dedicated to the rhythms that belong to the dounoumba family of rhythms.
1998: Mamady recorded his fifth studio album, Afo in Brussels with his group Sewa Kan. In this same year, Mamady released a series of instructional videos, Traditional Rhythms of the Mandingue, with Sponichi Creates, produced by Nonoue Katsuo.
2000: Balandugukan (double album) was recorded & released featuring Mamady and local musicians from the Wassolon region of Eastern Guinea playing rhythms unique to this area.
2001: Mamady Léé, a live album recorded at Mamady’s home in Conakry, Guinea. This album celebrates the integral role of the Griots in daily village life.
2002: A Giate. The idea behind this album was to feature traditional music from many of Guinea’s ethnic groups from the 4 regions of Guinea (Coastal, Central, Southern, North Eastern).
2004: Sila Laka, recorded LIVE in Conakry (a remake of Wassolon) was released, as well as a new set of instructional Videos, titled “Les Rythmes du Mandingue”Volumes I, II and III, all produced by Fonti Musicali.
2005: Mamady Keita’s first full-length LIVE concert DVD and CD, titled “Mamady Keita & Sewa Kan LIVE@CouleurCafe” is released in a collaboration between Zig Zag World, Fenix Music and Mamady’s own Djembefola Productions. In addition, Mamady’s long-time student Rainer Arold released a series of 12 instructional CDs. Each CD contains one rhythm broken down into its component parts and features three play-along tracks at different speeds, each beginning with Mamady playing that rhythm’s sequence of traditional solo phrases.
2006: Djembefola Productions and Fonti Musicali collaborated to release two newly re-mastered films ”Djembefola” and “Mogobalu”, (by Laurent Chevallier) on one DVD.
2007: Mandeng Djara, Mamady’s 10th CD produced by Fonti Musicali. This CD was recorded in Conakry and includes rhythms created by Mamady as well as traditional rhythms, and features some of Guinea’s most talented musicians. Also, Les Rythms du Mandeng Instructional video series is re-released as an interactive DVD series.
2008: Traditional Rhythms of the Mandingue for the Beginner: Mamady’s first ever instructional Video (VHS) from 1998 was re-released in DVD format a decade after its original release and is available again after the VHS versions being sold out for many years.
2009: Les Rythmes du Mandeng Vol 4: Solos, Breaks, & Techniques: a new instructional DVD produced by Fonti Musicali, the first in a new series for the intermediate & advanced students.
2010: Hakili: DVD with Bonus CD, Mamady celebrates his 50-year drumming career with a live DVD & CD featuring many of his friends. In 2011 this DVD was released in the USA.
2011: Traditional Rhythms of the Mandingue for Intermediate & Advanced: Instructional DVDs. These are Mamady’s first instructional videos that were originally released on video (VHS) in 1998. The Beginning DVD was converted and released in 2008, and in 2011 the Intermediate & Advanced DVDs were produced/released by Djembefola Productions making this material available again after many years.
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Early life
Keïta was born in the small village of Balandougou, Guinea, in the northeastern prefecture of Siguiri, near the border ofMali. His initiation to the djembe started at the early age of seven, under Karinkadjan Kondé, elder master djembefola of Balandugu, who initiated him to the secrets of the djembe. Keïta was educated in the traditions of his village, learning the history and music of the Malinke people. At the age of twelve, he became a member of the first regional federal ballet of Siguiri after Balanka Sidiki, a recruiter for the group, came to Balandugu looking for performers.
Career
At the time, Guinea was governed by Sékou Touré, who put special emphasis on Guinean culture through live performances and a system of local, regional, and national competitions that recruited the greatest artists of the land. During the National Festival in 1964, Keïta, then aged fourteen, along with fifty other percussionists and numerous other artists, was selected by Guinea's Minister of Culture to form Le Ballet National Djoliba (The Djoliba National Ballet), which was intended to serve as a showcase for Touré's revolution in Guinea. After nine months of training, he was one of only five percussionists retained.
He was appointed lead soloist of Ballet Djoliba in 1965 and, in 1979, became its artistic director. He stayed with Ballet Djoliba until 1986, when he joined Ballet Kotebain Côte d'Ivoire.
In 1988, Keïta moved to Belgium where he worked as a performer and teacher. In 1991, he opened his first school Tam Tam Mandingue percussion school in Brussels, to be followed by additional schools in Europe, the US, and Asia, each run by a school director personally certified by Keïta for his/her playing skill and teaching abilities.
Since then, Keîta has worked as a performer with his group Sewa Kan and recorded a number of CDs. He also teaches internationally, running international workshops in Europe, the US, Asia, and Australia, as well as an annual camp in Africa.[7] He has published a large body of djembe teaching materials on CD and DVD, as well as an instructional book.
He resides in Monterrey, Mexico.
Discography
- 1989: Mamady Keïta & Sewa Kan, Wassolon, Fonti Musicali
- 1992: Mamady Keïta, Nankama, Fonti Musicali, 1992
- 1995: Mamady Keïta, Mögöbalu (double CD), Fonti Musicali
- 1996: Mamady Keïta, Hamanah (with Famoudou Konaté), Fonti Musicali
- 1998: Mamady Keïta & Sewa Kan, Afö, Fonti Musicali
- 2000: Mamady Keïta, Balandugu Kan (double CD), Fonti Musicali
- 2001: Mamady Keïta, Mamady Lèè, Fonti Musicali
- 2002: Mamady Keïta, Agiatè, Fonti Musicali
- 2004: Mamady Keïta, Djembe Master (compilation of tracks from previous albums), Nocturne (rough trade)
- 2004: Mamady Keïta, Sila Laka, Fonti Musicali
- 2005: Mamady Keïta & Sewa Kan, Live @ Couleur Cafe, Fenix Music & ZigZag World
- 2007: Mamady Keïta, Mandeng Djara, Fonti Musicali
- 2010: Mamady Keïta & Sewa Kan, Hakili (DVD & CD package), ZigZag World & CristalRecords