JumbieRecords

West Indian Parade videos and pictures

Labor Day weekend means one thing in Brooklyn: The massive, massive Caribbean festival. Most of the attention goes to the Monday parade, which is understandable, given that 2 million or so people attend- one account put the number at 3 million. There are hundreds of photos online, but before providing links to those pages, I have to wildly praise Panorama, the steelpan orchestra competition.

A dozen groups face stiff rivalry and exacting judges to win the prize. Every group works all year, rehearsing several times a week for no pay, and they all achieve a high level of musicianship and showmanship. Panorama attracts thousands of people willing to pay $35 to get in—I have a feeling the high cover price means that fewer casual observers show up, so there aren't as many photos online. Each group is made up of roughly forty musicians, each accompanied by their massive instruments.

I took some videos, and I have to warn in advance that they're not the best quality. Yet I hope the excitement of the event shines through. Here are the links of different groups:

• Pantonics
• The Sesame Flyers preping to go on stage
• Pan Sonatas, this year's winner

Here is the official website of the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association.

And now some colorful links:

• New York Post photo essay
• Village Voice shows the glorious and not-so-glorious
• Gowanus Lounge (This is nice! It includes links to several flikr pages)
• Daily News photos

Brooklyn Paper Reports on Missia & Kakande

The Courier-Life papers, which has wide coverage throughout Brooklyn, just wrote a nice article about Missia and Kakande, "Kakande’s farewell performance in Brooklyn:"

An “African diva” will play a final show in Brooklyn before heading back to her homeland.

Missia Diabate will join her band mates in Kakande for a farewell performance at Barbès on August 10 to share her strong, powerful voice one last time with Brooklynites.

“I am not leaving Kakande behind, I will always be with Kakande when they need me,” Diabate said. “I am going back to Guinea because my only son needs me and I have to go to France, where my producer lives, to make my next album.”

The article is very well timed!

Great photos from the Kakande show

Our dear friend Magali posted some wonderful photos of the Kakande show at Barbès last weekend. Check them out by clicking here.

She took some great audience shots— here are some of Missia, Famoro and Raul:

Video: Famoro meets Mamadou Djeng of Senegal

I use Dallam-Dougou as a way to take risks. When I met Mamadou Djeng, a ngoni player from Senegal, I didn't really know how it would work out. He joined Dallam-Dougou for our shows earlier this month, and I was really please with the results. Here is a video of him playing with Famoro.

You can also view this at YouTube.com/rauldougou.

Video of Kakande at Barbès

Kakande had a great show last night at Barbès in Brooklyn- two hours of pure energy.

Here's a video of the group performing Sosisa with Missia Saran Diabate.

You can also see the video at YouTube.com/watch?v=xruv_ij7F30.

Much of Missia

I was not the model of restraint yesterday. We started taking film of Missia for our upcoming Kakande video, and Itook some pictures of Missia. These are from the area around the memorial arch at Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

Click here for many more photos...

Dallam-Dougou July '07

Dallam-Dougou had a great couple shows over the weekend. Check out our photo essay here. We were joined by Mamadou Djeng on ngoni and Tim Fuson on guimbre.
 

2 Premieres from Imaginary Homeland (May 18)

Well, our spring tour to Michigan may have been sadly canceled by New York's final blizzard of the season, but Imaginary Homeland is still looking forward to some hot musical happenings.

Our new piece "Ides Plus Two" was written for the occasion of our planned appearance at Detroit's Max M. Fisher Music Center -- 2 days after the Ides of March, which was St. Patrick's Day (the piece has a fiddling sound that owes a bit to the Irish among others).  Instead, it will get a delayed premiere at Barbes in Brooklyn, on May 18th.

The same show will feature the premiere of a second new tune (!! haven't done that in a few years), just hammered out in a frenzy by yours truly.  This one plays with a laid-back swing feeling overlaid with a 12/8 clave feel, and a smattering of double-time rhythms.  The name?  I have no idea.  Come to the show and find out!

This and more music, with Mark's rockin' African drumset, Marlene's lovely violin, and Matt's irrepressible bass will be on hand in the intimate and eminently listenable music room at Barbes in Park Slope Brooklyn.  Please join us!

-David Rogers

Friday, May 18, 7 pm: Brooklyn, NY
Imaginary Homeland  at Barbès
376 9th St at 6th Ave. (Park Slope, Brooklyn)
718-965-9177
Tickets $8
Directions

Kakraba Lobi concert (3/31, Brooklyn)

This Saturday (March 31) in Brooklyn, the xylophonist Kakraba Lobi of Ghana will be playing a rare NYC concert.  Kakraba is a wonderful musician, teacher, and human being, and one of the very first ambassadors to bring the “gyil” xylophone to Western audiences.  I've had the pleasure of playing with him and bringing a workshop of his to school kids in New York.  He’s appearing with Valerie Naranjo & Barry Olsen (who put in a thrilling appearance at the second African Xylophone Festival, presented by Jumbie Records).

This show is part of an exciting new Saturday nights series of “world, fusion, and experimental music” being curated by Maria Cangiano at “Night and Day” (reborn in the backroom of Biscuit Barbeque).  Other recent and upcoming shows include Candombe “music from the Rio De La Plata,” avant garde Argentine piano music, and “eastern soul music meets jazz fusion.”

Saturday, March 31, 6:30pm (Brooklyn, NY)
MUSIC FROM GHANA: KAKRABA LOBI with Valerie Naranjo & Barry Olsen
$10 cover plus drink minimum
Night and Day (backroom of Biscuit Barbecue)
230 5th Ave @ President Street / 718-399-2161
www.biscuitbbq.com

-David Rogers

Post-Concert MP3 + Photos (DRQ + Kakande)

Thank you to everyone who shared the music with us last weekend at Friday's CD release concert by the David Rogers Quintet, and Saturday's performance by Kakande at one of Brooklyn's endangered Undeground Railroad Safehouses.

If you couldn't make it to either show, you can still catch a bit of what you missed... Check out free music downloads below, and photos from these Jumbie Records concerts.

Free Music Download of
David Rogers Quintet Live at Barbes

Listen to a live cut from the CD release party. Sylvain Leroux's buoyant "Le Gros Be Jean" comes to raucous life in the hands of the band.
Click here to download a 5 minute excerpt

David Rogers Quintet featuring: David Rogers (tenor sax), Kenny Wessel (guitar), Sylvain Leroux (alto sax, Western & African flutes), Chris Lightcap (acoustic bass), and Rob Garcia (drums). Click here to read about the band.

Listen and order the CD!

 

Photos from Kakande
at the Abolitionist Safehouse

In Downtown Brooklyn, right off the Fulton Street Mall, several Abolitionists stood their ground against legal slavery in the United States. Harriet and Thomas Truesdell used to live at 227 Duffield Street, and they hid slaves in their basement. But now New York City thinks its a better idea to destroy this home and build an access road to a hotel and underground parking.

The highlight of the show was hearing Missia Diabate sing about the slave experience in this country. She understood the importance of being in the building where people escaped from slavery just a few generations ago.

Click to see photos from Kakande at 227 Duffield Street