In the Shadow of the Master

Bolokada Conde, Djembe Master

Last weekend drum aficionados from the Asheville area were treated to a great concert at Jubilee sponsored by Skinny Beats Drum Shop and Gallery. The performance featured notable West African djembe player Bolokada Conde, Chikomo Marimba, and Billy Zanski with his Skinny Beats Drum Crew (also featuring Billy's multi-talented musical partner, Linda Go). Attending with my wife, Anita, I was privileged to videotape the Friday night performance (a still image from the show is above) and experience first hand the power and beauty of this percussive feast. Besides the quintessential drum of the Malinke people of the Sankaran region of Guinea, West Africa, the djembe, the show also featured doundouns, krin, balafon, various small to large marimbas, and assorted other percussion instruments.

But, for this sound fest, no amplification was needed.

The most striking aspect to me personally of the experience of recording the concert was the vibrations produced by many large drums flowing right through my body with an almost electric intensity. Since I was wearing headphones which limited the intensity of the sound of the music to my ears, I was better able to sense the vibration effect as a tactile sensation rather that an aural one, especially in the center of my chest. I must say, it felt pretty good.

The rest of the audience of probably 100 or so fans could hardly hold their seats. At the end of the second song, Billy Zanski asked the crowd to go ahead and dance, or he'd have to come out to the audience and make them. That was all the invitation they needed to hear and they poured out of their chairs to wriggle, jump, and bop to the wildly energetic but tightly synchronized world beats.

And, of course, Bolokada put on a great exhibition of his rhythmic talents. As a world-renouned djembe player, he's got the "chops" AND his authentic Guinea, West African tribal costume to prove it. Bolokada Conde is known worldwide as one of the most exciting and dynamic djembefolas (a master of the djembe drum). While on tour with Les Percussions de Guinea, Bolokada and Billy Zanski became friends. The following year Billy traveled to Guinea to study with Bolokada, and has worked closely with Bolokada ever since.  Billy tries to bring Bolokada to Asheville once a year, and I hope he continues this tradition for many more years.

As an added bonus, Skinny Beats Drum Shop and Gallery also hosted djembe lessons with Bolokada last weekend.  Anita and I both attended a class last Sunday and were able to spend an hour with the drum master and a class of about 20 djembe students.  It was an enjoyable but too short hour that left all in attendance smiling broadly.

Some of Bolokada's CDs and DVDs can be found by clicking the link.  Check them out.  He's the real thing.

Djembe Fever

A Handmade Piece of Africa

First, a bit of background is in order.

A typical modern handmade djembe in an individual work of art crafted in West Africa from the wood of the Lenge tree due to its acoustic and spiritual qualities among the Malinke people, whose traditional philosophy states that nyama (spiritual energy) is present in all things, whether living or dead, but many other types of hard wood may be used, depending upon those available to the drum makers. Some West African hardwoods used for musician-quality djembes carved in Mali, Senegal, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire include djalla, dougi/dimba, khari/hare/gueni, and acajou.

The djembe's drum head, located on one end only (the large end), is traditionally made of the shaved skin of a goat, but cow hide or antelope skin is sometimes substituted.

Prior to the twentieth century, the skin was commonly attached with animal sinew or intestine, or by stretching a cut strip of rawhide. But, today many synthetic materials have replaced the original organic materials traditionally used to make djembes. The good news is that many modern incarnations of the drum still retain the sound and esthetic qualities displayed in the original models.


Anita bought her djembe, made in Côte d'Ivoire, a few weeks ago and she has graciously allowed me to practice on it as well. We also purchased one of our drum teacher Billy Zanski's practice DVDs to work out with since it really helps us to get into the groove of the West African rhythms while reviewing the correct techniques.


One of the things I always notice after a few moments of banging away on the djembes, whether Anita's personal model or the ones that Billy Zanski of Skinny Beats Drums lets us use for lessons at his shop, is the smell of the goat skin drum head. It has a definite kind of "gamey" smell that took a bit of getting used to over three weeks of classes and practice.


But now, I have to admit that I kinda like that goat skin smell since I relate it to learning a new instrument (new to me , that is). It is said that each djembe contains three spirits: the spirit of the tree it was carved from, the spirit of the animal from which the drum head is made, and the spirit of the instrument maker. The djembe that Anita bought (a colorful detail of which is pictured above) has the maker's initials B.T. MS. along with the date it was made clearly painted on the inside of the drum at the base.

I like that a lot, too.