AXF: African Xylophone Festival
April 29-30, 2005 (New York City)
Jumbie Records and Columbia University are proud to present in New York
the first-ever American festival of new and traditional
xylophone music from across the African continent.
The festival will feature an amazing variety of xylophones, from the spider-webbed gyil of Ghana, and the clarion balafon of Guinea, to the enormous embaire of Uganda.
Leading international and U.S. artists will present traditional African music for funerals, ceremonies, and village festivals – as well as innovative new compositions that combine African xylophones with jazz, American fiddling, and Hungarian folk music.
The festival will include two nights of concerts at Satalla, New York’s leading world music club; two days of demonstrations and masterclasses at Columbia University; and school programs across the city.
$40 for the Whole Festival!
(see program and pricing below)
Special $40 All-Festival Offer:
Order
tickets online to both evening concerts, and get into every workshop
free! Just buy $20 tickets online for both the 4/29 and 4/30 concerts
at Satalla. Show the tickets at any workshop or masterclass to
get in free (please email to reserve your space at masterclasses).
Program: Friday 4/29/05
4:30-6:00 p.m. Lecture/Demonstration
"Xylophone Music Across Africa"
with Mark Stone, Bernard Woma, and Famoro Dioubate
at Columbia University, 620 Dodge Hall
Admission: $8 or free with ticket to evening concert (or
free with Columbia ID)
Email for Lecture/Demonstration
Reservations
Download Map to Columbia
Events
8:00-11:30 p.m. Festival Concert, featuring:
- Bernard Woma Trio
- The St. Ann's African Xylophone Ensemble of Brooklyn
- Dallam-Dougou
- Surprise guests (tba)
at Satalla 37 West
26th St. (btw 6th/B'way)
212-576-1155
Tickets: $20 advance / $23 at the door
(Order concert tickets online now)
Program: Saturday 4/30/05
10 am - 6 pm: African Xylophone Masterclasses
at Columbia University (301 Philosophy)
Price per masterclass: $10 / $5 with one concert ticket, free
with two Satalla tickets (or free with Columbia ID)
- 10:00-11:00 am Children's Workshop on the gyil of Ghana (with Bernard
Woma)
- 11:30 am-1:00 pm Masterclass on gyil of Ghana (with Bernard Woma)
- 2:00-3:30 pm Masterclass on embaire of Uganda (with Mark Stone)
- 4:00-5:30 pm Masterclass on balafon of Guinea (with Famoro Dioubate)
Email for Masterclass Reservations
& Directions
Download Map to Columbia
Events
8:00-11:30 p.m. Festival Concert, featuring:
- Famoro Dioubate's "Kakende"
- Imaginary Homeland
- Southpaw Isle Embaire Ensemble
- AXF composer commission: "Interlude to the Auctioning of a Goat"
at Satalla 37 West
26th St. (btw 6th/B'way)
212-576-1155
Tickets: $20 advance / $23 at the door
(Order concert tickets online now)
Festival Artists (in order of appearance)
Bernard Woma Trio
Bernard Woma is solo xylophonist and master drummer of the National Dance
Company of Ghana. Bernard's trio performs powerful and exciting music
for two gyile (Ghanaian xylophones) and kuor (gourd drum). When Bernard
was born, his hands were clenched in fists as if clutching xylophone mallets.
A village elder informed Bernard's father that this indicated Bernard
was destined to become a master of the gyil. Bernard quickly fulfilled
the prophecy and was awarded the title of "Best Xylophonist"
at the local Kakube festival. In addition to being a leading performer
of traditional Dagara music, Bernard is also a great innovator, composing
many new works for the gyil.
The St. Ann's African Xylophone Ensemble of Brooklyn
The opening concert on April 29 will begin with an ensemble of twenty
2nd and 3rd graders, the St. Ann's African Xylophone Ensemble of Brooklyn.
The group started after teacher Susie Sokol visited the Dagara Music Center
in Ghana in 2003. Upon her return, she started the kids' ensemble at her
school with visiting artist Bernard Woma, from the National Dance Company
of Ghana. "This group is the dream that I have had for passing down
this music to young kids," says Woma. "They have a great feeling
for the music, they have great rhythm, and they are focused. I am so glad
to be performing at the festival with these wonderful kids."
Dallam-Dougou
Welcome to Dallam-Dougou, a land where West African griot, jazz, and Hungarian-infused
musicians can all groove together. Shocking flute riffs jump over ornate
violin melodies, while the balafon xylophone dukes it out with the clarinet,
all over a bed of cello and percussion, with heartfelt African vocals.
The music summons the traditions of both West African griots and crazed
Hungarian csardas dances, and the sounds and movement can be appreciated
by anyone with two ears and a booty.
Famoro Dioubate's "Kakande"
The newest ensemble on the program is Kakande. Founded in 2004 by Famoro
Dioubate, this group plays the classical repertoire of the Mande peoples
of West Africa -- but with a New York flavor. While the vibe is pure Mande,
the Famoro's instrumentation is fresh, including flute, bass, cello and
congas. At the front is the virtuosic balafon xylophone playing of Dioubate,
a griot who is loved for the joy and warmth that he radiates as a performer.
Together, this group has been winning both African and American audiences
in Brooklyn through its lush chamber-jazz sound and repertoire of beloved
African songs.
Imaginary Homeland
In Imaginary Homeland, the gyil xylophone of Ghana blends with jazz and
American roots fiddling, in music that is both innovative and surprisingly
familiar. This quartet of African xylophone, strings, and saxophone slips
easily across national boundaries to find a wholly original, global sound.
Critics compare their music to John Coltrane's Indian-influenced jazz
(Global Rhythm) and declare that "With praises to a dozen genres
and fealty to none this quartet is creating.... their own musical nation."
(Dirty Linen Magazine).
Southpaw Isle Embaire Ensemble
Southpaw Isle is the only North American ensemble dedicated to the performance
of the East African embaire xylophone of Uganda. The embaire is a giant
21-key instrument played by six performers at the same time. The keys
are suspended over a large resonating chamber and struck on the edge with
wooden sticks and played in the center with bare hands. Director Mark
Stone performed for six months as an honorary member of the Nakibembe
Xylophone Group, Uganda's leading embaire ensemble, while performing at
Busoga village funerals and weddings. His research in Ugandan music has
been published in African Music, the Journal of the International Library
of African Music in South Africa.
AXF composer commission: "Interlude to the Auctioning of a Goat"
In honor of New York's first concert appearance of the Ugandan embaire
xylophone, the AXF has commissioned a new piece for the festival. "Interlude
to the Auctioning of a Goat" was written to capture the changing
roles of traditional xylophone music in Uganda today, and sometimes bizarre
resulting contexts. Composed by David Rogers and arranged by Mark Stone,
the piece draws on the unique interlocking counterpoint of East African
xylophone music and the melodic improvisations of modern American jazz.
It will be performed by world-jazz quartet Imaginary Homeland together
with the Southpaw Isle Embaire ensemble.
***
Program of Festival Events
Order Concert Tickets
Order tickets for both April 29th and April 30th concerts at Satalla online via Smarttix now.
Reserve a Seat for Workshops
Email
us for reservations and directions to Lecture / Demonstrations
and Master Classes at Columbia University.
Special $40 All-Festival Offer:
Order
tickets online to both evening concerts, and get into every workshop
free! Just buy $20 tickets online for both the 4/29 and 4/30 concerts
at Satalla. Show the tickets at any workshop or masterclass to
get in free (please email to reserve your space at masterclasses).
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