Mamady Keïta is a master drummer

Master drummer

In African drumming, the title of master drummer is given to a drummer who is well known by other masters for his high skill and knowledge. It is a title passed down from a master to his pupil, after he has learned all there is to know about the African drum....

 from the West African nation of Guinea

Guinea

Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

. He specializes in the goblet-shaped hand drum called djembe

Djembe

A djembe also known as jembe, jenbe, djbobimbe, jymbe, yembe, or jimbay, or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin-covered drum meant played with bare hands....

. He is also the founder of the Tam Tam Mandingue school of drumming. He is a member of the Manding

Mandinka people

The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....

 ethnic group.

Early life

Keïta was born in the small village of Balandugu (sometimes spelled Balandougou), Guinea, in the northeastern prefecture of Siguiri

Siguiri Prefecture

Siguiri is a prefecture located in the Kankan Region of Guinea. The capital is Siguiri. The prefecture covers an area of 15,500 km² and has an estimated population of 244,000.-Sub-prefectures:...

, near the border of Mali

Mali

Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...

. His initiation to the djembe started at the early age of seven, under Karinkadjan Kondé, elder djembefola (master djembe player) of Balandugu, who showed him all the secrets of the djembe. Keïta was educated in the traditions of his village, and initiated into the history and music of the Manding (also spelled Mandingue) 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.

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.

Career

In 1964 Keïta left Balandugu to become a member of the Djoliba Ballet, in which he served as lead drummer and soloist until 1979. The group practiced in a special stage constructed for this purpose at the residence of Sékou Touré. In 1979, Keïta became the artistic director of the troupe, a position he held until 1986. During his time, he went on numerous tours throughout the world, performing in West

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

, Central

Central Africa

Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....

, and East Africa

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, and the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

.

In 1986, wishing to leave the cocoon formed by the ballet and become a more independent musician, Keïta joined Souleymane Koli's troupe, Koteba, in Abidjan

Abidjan

Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...

, and he stayed with it for a year and a half. In 1991, Keïta decided it was time to go his own way and he established his own percussion school which he called Tam Tam Mandingue, literally "drums of the Manding." The school rapidly acquired international renown and opened branches in France, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, Switzerland, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, the United States and Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. In Belgium alone, the school has over 300 students from the beginner to the professional levels. In 2008 he became the patron of Sewa Beats

Sewa Beats

Sewa Beats is an international company with its headquarters in Morges, Switzerland, that delivers management learning through rhythm and music...

 a company that specializes in corporate learning through rhythm and music.

Keïta resides in San Diego

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States, with his wife Monette Marino-Keïta.

Discography

• 1989 - Wassolon
• 1992 - Nankama
• 1995 - Mögöbalu
• 1996 - Hamanah
• 1998 - Afö
• 2000 - Balandugu Kan
• 2001 - Mamady Lèè
• 2002 - A Giatè
• 2004 - Djembe Master
• 2004 - Sila Laka
• 2007 - Mandeng Djara
• 2010 - Hakili

Films

• 1964 - Africa Dance (with Harry Belafonte).
• 1991 - Djembefola. Directed by Laurent Chevalier.
• 2003 - Djembe Kan (2003). Directed by Monette Marino. Publisher: Tam Tam Mandingue USA.
• 2005 - Mamady Keïta and Sewa Kan: Live @ Couleur Café. Publisher: Fenix Music

External links

• Mamady Keita official site
• Tam Tam Mandingue page
• Mamady Keita Homepage
• Sewa Beats Homepage
• Tam Tam Mandingue Singapore

See also

• Djembe
  Djembe
  A djembe also known as jembe, jenbe, djbobimbe, jymbe, yembe, or jimbay, or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin-covered drum meant played with bare hands....