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Concert Review
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Baobab Tree Media, Concert Review >>
Tucked away next to a kebab shop on New York City’s Lower East side one can find Drom, a hotspot legendary for welcoming international musicians. On October 26th, the cavernous nightclub and restaurant hosted a remarkable night of West African music with two amazing groups: Imaginary Homeland and Kakande.
Imaginary Homeland, an acoustic jazz quartet led by renowned musician, composer and founder of Jumbie Records, David Rogers, started off the evening with an intricate set of songs off of their latest album, Jump for George. The crowd responded with enthusiastic clapping as the band performed fast paced and uplifting songs like “Interlude to the Auctioning of a Goat” and “Straight from the Horses Tail.”
The crowd roared when the headlining act of the night, Kakande, hit the stage. In a matter of moments the energy in the room shifted and all were aware that they were in the presence of musical royalty. With a deep groove, the band challenged the stage not to burst at the seams with talented musicians. Smiling brightly, balafon (xylophone) master Famoro Dioubate kept his 7 piece band in line.
Born into one of the most revered family of griots of the Mandé Empire in Guinea, Dioubate effortlessly honors the legacy of musical traditions that date back to the 13th century. Speaking of his home village in a recent interview he revealed, “My father and mother come from Kakande. I first went there when I was a kid. I loved to go there to play music with all the people in the forest. Some would play guitar, some would play the n’goni (5-7 string lute), some the kora (21-string harp-lute). In the morning there was always music, and at night they would sing.”
Playing songs off of Kakande’s latest release, Dununya (released on Jumbie Records), it was clear each member loved to be there, dancing away as they played with a hypnotizing energy on their respective instruments: cello, clarinet, bass, guitar, drums and flute.
In a humorous moment, a friend of Dioubate’s joined him onstage and began to sing along freestyle, and took a 20 dollar bill out of his pocket and slapped it on the balafon player’s sweaty forehead- a cheerful display of reverence for the artists work. The rock influenced rhythms spurned a group of somewhat docile concert goers to begin a playful circle of dancers beneath the stage. As the night went on more people continued to trickle into Drom and were immediately sucked into the feel good vibrations of the venue. For those who were too busy upstairs getting a kebab, they truly missed out on a special evening.
-- by Rayme Samuels 11/03/08 >> go there
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