JumbieRecords

KISS, Aerosmith, Famoro: Cisco fascination with rock gods continue

Cisco Systems has had a fascination with rock legends, and they have recently hired KISS, Aeorosmith and Famoro Dioubate to motivate their employees. Yes, Famoro is the same league as Bill Clinton, in that he has been hired by Cisco for inspirational events designed to drive this force of corporate success to even higher levels of profitability. By appearing at the Cisco's Global Sales Conference in Las Vegas, Famoro has even done his part in preventing the recent stock crisis from getting worse. In the words of one blogger:

Even amid the global market meltdown triggered by the mortgage crisis in the U.S. one silver lining for me has been the steady climb of the Cisco stock price. That is no surprise as the company’s business has been recording impressive growth rates, quarter on quarter.

It is amid this bullish outlook for the stock and the company that Cisco is celebrating its Global Sales Meeting now in Las Vegas. Held each year in August, this is an event that has all the trappings of a mega festival that brings together people from across all geographic boundaries under one platform.

It is dominated by power-packed speeches by top motivational and celebrity speakers (it was Clinton last year), some chest-thumping and an entertainment extravaganza (Aerosmith has been roped in this year) all geared to spurring the sales force to return to their respective territories fully charged for steering the company to even greater heights. It is timed right as Cisco’s fiscal year begins in August.

I am particularly impressed with this year’s GSM catchline – it’s our time! With networking and video driving technological innovation and holding great charm for the future, it may well be Cisco’s time now!

We don't have too many images of Famoro's forray into the lands of Las Vegas, but we do have these funky photos.

Viva Las Vegas!

Dreaming of Moldavia

I've been enjoying reading Bob Cohen's travel descriptions in his blog. Here's his post about travelling around the Csángó region in Carpathian mountains of Romania:

"Well... just wait here..." said one old lady, and sure enough, within a minute everybody had dived into their laundry chests and brought out the old dowry pieces. It used to be the custom in Csángó villages to make an entirely new set of dress costumes for each Easter, and then set it aside as a dowry. The younger generation wants more modern weddings, so most older woman have a chest full of weavings and embroidered costumes mothballed away. Old folks don't get many opportunities to pick up extra cash in these remote areas, so soon the street was full of old Csángó women trying to make a sale.

(This part of Romania is called Moldavia, not to be confused with the independent country with the same name, in case you were wondering.)

St. Lucian Jumbies: A Photo Essay

I posted a photo essay on the Variety of Jumbie Experiences in St. Lucia. Hope you enjoy it!

Terry Herald Attends Holocaust Documentary Screening in Germany

from Jumbie Journal, July 2006

Jumbie partner and Musica Mundi leader Terry Herald just returned  from Munich, Germany where he attended the July 16 screening of Journey to Justice at the Munich Film Festival.  Terry composed the original music for this powerful documentary.  Journey to Justice tells the story of Howard Triest, who as a teenager escaped the Nazi domination of his home in Munich to later return as an American soldier involved in the liberation of Buchenwald and the rescue of his grandmother from Theresienstadt.  Acting as the interpreter for the psychiatrists at the Nuremberg Trials, he interviewed the Nazi high command responsible for the deaths of his parents and close relatives.

Terry composed and recorded forty-five minutes of music for this important project using a chamber orchestra consisting of English horn, piano, guitar, solo violin and a 15-piece string section.  Terry also conducted and performed classical guitar.  The violin soloist and concertmaster for the recording was Musica Mundi member Sonia Lee. Sonia is a graduate of Julliard and former Principal Second Violin of the Toronto Symphony.  Her soulful performances of Terry’s score perfectly capture the poignancy of this most personal story of courage, loss and redemption.       

After receiving critical acclaim at several U.S. festivals, including the Sarasota Film Festival where it played at four sold out screenings, Journey to Justice has been giving a place of honor at the Munich festival, with a reception to follow this European premier.  The film's producer, Steve Palackdharry, has garnered high accolades for his sensitive and moving treatment of this important story.

Now that he is back from Munich, Terry is scheduled to finish the mixing of the Musica Mundi CD.

Dagara Music Centre Recognized by Ghanaian Ministry of Tourism

by Mark Stone
from Jumbie Journal, July 2006

Jumbie Partner, Bernard Woma's Dagara Music Centre is busier than ever this summer. Bernard headed straight to Ghana as soon as AXF2 and his classes at Fredonia University were complete. When he arrived in Ghana he already had students from the U.S. waiting for him. Students from Bowling Green State University, Ithaca College, Concordia College, Berklee College of Music, Louis and Clark College, and the University of Arizona have all studied at the Dagara Music Center this year. At the center they learn various forms of traditional drumming, dancing, and xylophone music as well as kente weaving, batik and tie and dye making, drum making and blacksmithing.

The Dagara Music Centre, located in Medie, Ghana (a suburb of the capital city, Accra) was recently designated as an official tourist destination by Ghana's Ministry of Tourism. Bernard established the centre in 1999 to promote and popularize Ghanaian traditional music, especially the Dagara gyil (Ghanaian xylophone). Bernard personally supervises all teaching along with his staff of talented musicians, dancers, and visual artists.       

The center is also the home of the award winning Dagara Dance troupe, one of the leading traditional music and dance groups of Ghana. The troupe has many performance scheduled in Ghana this summer including a concert at the home of the US Ambassador to Ghana. The Dagara Dance Troupe is also preparing to record a DVD that is to be released by the end of the year. The group's repertoire includes a range of spiritual, ceremonial, and recreational genres. Their music and dance is joyful, expressive and highly participatory.

Brooklyn Kids Pledge Allegiance to the Gyil

by Susie Sokol       

from Jumbie Journal, April 2005

When I first handed my second grade students mallets and let them play on the gyil (pronounced JEEL), it was love at first strike! They were instantly smitten with this African xylophone.

My college friend Derek Bermel first introduced me to the gyil when he played for me a little ditty about a hawk that falls into the bitter pito brew and spoils it. The song and story were so simple and I remember thinking, "My students will LOVE learning this." I loved the way you could sing the words to the song, "Katumba durba datoi," and then play the gyil, and hear it 'singing' those same words.

I began my study of the gyil with three weeks in Ghana, thanks to the generous support of St. Ann's, the school I teach at in Brooklyn. I spent my time in Ghana studying with the xylophone master himself, Bernard Woma, at his School of Music and Dance. The first song he taught me was called Ne wa seb. Although I had studied West African dance for ten years, I had no prior musical training. But Bernard broke the song down into six variations, which made it easier for me. As I learned the piece, I knew that Bernard had unwittingly given me the heart and soul of my curriculum on West Africa for next year.

I came back to St. Ann's with two twelve-keyed gyils fresh off the plane from Ghana. It didn't take long before the kids were asking to play the gyil in the morning (our not-so-quiet "Quiet Activity") and later in the day for "Free Choice." Ne wa seb became our class anthem, our daily pledge of gyil-legiance.

At the same time we were studying West African folktales and Kente and Adinkra cloth. The patterns in the cloth reminded some kids of the patterns in the xylophone songs. We also did a project on gourds in West Africa; after visiting the Brooklyn Museum of Art's African mask wing, we transformed our moldy gourds into animated objects.

Many of my students were just starting piano lessons, and began trying out the gyil songs on the piano. Their attempts to 'westernize' the gyil prompted terrific discussions about the difference between the Western and African pentatonic scales.

After lessons and classroom visits by Kakraba Lobi and Valerie Naranjo, Bernard Woma himself came to the US and came to my class. When Bernard teaches, he breaks the ice with the audience by getting everybody to stand up and clap and yell, "Shake your body!" over and over again. My kids and I have taken this rallying cry to heart. On one visit, Bernard was joined by Lizzie, a Ghanaian dancer. The kids were completely taken by the sight of her dancing to his gyil and the communication between them-as when the dancer waits for the "drum break" signal to move on to the next step.

I love the gyil because it is big, bulky, kind of humorous with its dangling gourds, and very kid-like. It's almost half the size of some of my students. In my own playing, I find I have to be absolutely at one with the instrument, letting go of both negative thoughts like "I'm so horrible at this" and positive ones like "Wow, Susie, you're doing so great!" I know the gyil is giving me another life lesson to share with my students.

Some of my kids are obsessed, and I mean obsessed, with the gyil. They find gyil everywhere. They'll play the songs with mallets on the rug or on a bookshelf or on a friend's back. Other kids have grown to love the cowbell; still other kids love the djembe drum -- pete pete boom bata ping bata boom.

When Bernard led my kids in a workshop last December, he was so impressed that he invited them to be part of the African Xylophone Festival this April, and to 'open' for him at Satalla. We gladly accepted the gig and the kids are devoting their free time, morning and afternoon, to practice their parts.

They are also carrying the gyil tradition to others. At our last holiday school party, my students started to teach the gyil to their parents. It was an amazing sight seeing them teaching the songs they'd learned on the gyil, coaching their parents where to hit the instrument and how to hold the mallets.

I would love for my kids' love of the gyil to inspire other schools to begin working with traditional West African instruments, as well. I like to think that my students have the power to help preserve and lengthen the life of the gyil, and in grander terms, the culture of Ghana.

Report on the Xylophone Section of the Ugandan Music Festival

by Haruna Walusimbi, Director
Nile Beat Artists                      

from Jumbie Journal, April 2006

I must say thank you very much Jumbie Records for your noble cause of supporting one of Uganda's threatened treasures- Uganda's indigenous music, particularly the Embaire (xylophone) music. Special thanks to Mark Stone, known in Uganda as "Kakaire", who fell in love with Uganda's Indigenous music, especially the Embaire, and has continued to be our strongest ambassador. "Webale nyo Kakaire!" (Thanks very much Mark!)

The xylophone section in our festival was one of the most exciting and it captured a lot of peoples' attention. The 21-slab instrument is very unique, the players are so gifted, and the dancers are extraordinary. By the end of the festival, the xylophone had become the talk of everyone and most importantly our local sponsors, Uganda Breweries Limited. There were four very strong xylophone groups in the festival but three got eliminated at the district and regional levels leaving only one, the Muwewesi Xylophone Group from Iganga District, to represent them all at the national level.

The Muwewesi Xylophone Group was one of eight music ensembles from all the regions of Uganda to go to the National music competition and there they emerged as the overall winner. It's rare in our local music competitions for other groups to accept defeat, but at the end of the festival the other seven groups came and shook hands with the xylophone group leader. "You were too strong for us, how do you do it?" asked the group leader from the Northern region. They had a party together because all the groups stayed for that night. "When I saw your dance, I knew we were finished, actually all of us started competing only for the second position." said the leader of the group from the West Nile Region.

The winners— Muwewesi xylophone Group— walked away with 6 million Uganda Shillings (approx. $3500) and a huge trophy that they will defend this year.       

We are very grateful to Jumbie Records who extended their helping hand to the xylophone groups. Costumes and the quality of instruments are very crucial to these groups. However, because of Jumbie Records' support, this is one of the areas where the Muwewesi Xylophone Group scored highly at the national competition. They used Jumbie Records' donation to buy very good costumes including bikoyis, kanzus and dancing skins.       

We are already planning the festival for 2006. This year's festival is going to be much bigger because it will involve 800 groups across the country compared to these past years, which had 320 groups. This year's competitions will start on June 2nd at the county levels and the finals will take place on December 9th.

Thank you very much Jumbie Records for your timely support and we look forward to working with you in this exciting field of indigenous music.

Haruna Walusimbi,
Director, Nile Beat Artists
(organizers of the Senator National Cultural Festival)

Click for more photos       

 

Counting Our Blessings in Louisiana

by Raul Rothblatt
from Jumbie Journal, October 2005

Életfa Hungarian Folk has been heading down to Louisiana every         October for about ten years. The Hungarian community is located north of Lake Ponchartrain, so it didn't experience any of the flooding caused by Katrina that destroyed New Orleans, but the disruption to life were great enough that the Harvest Dance- the biggest Hungarian event of the year- was cancelled.

I called some of my friends down in Louisiana on Saturday 9/24, and I  am glad to report that everyone from the Hungarian community is fine, though it still seems too early to call my friends from New Orleans. The best way to sum up the mood was when one of my friends said "We're not sitting around in a pity party." They had work to do, everyone was okay, and everyone was counting their blessings.       

Some Background:

I have included pictures (click here) from 2003 and 2004 to give a flavor of the Harvest Dance and      some of the Életfa shows in New Orleans. We first went down in 1996 as part of the hundredth anniversary of the Hungarian community in Arpadhon, Livingston Parish. The Harvest Dance is their version of the Szuretti Bal or Grape Harvest Festival that is found in most Hungarian populations. The Louisiana version is inspiring to all Hungarians because  they have kept their tradition alive through so many generations, and because they have preserved certain elements that are not found anywhere else in the world. These Lousiana-Hungarian traditions are unique partially because the local influence is so strong (e.g. there are more line dances than couple dances) and because some immigrants came during the 1910s and 1920s and preserved songs and dances that were popular then.       

The main source of income for decades was the strawberry crop, and they have a great tradition of strawberry wines. They did not integrate into Louisianan culture for a long time, and they had to rely on each other.  At this point only the older residents still speak Hungarian fluently.       

"I'm going to tell you something..."       

As usual, the most colorful description of the current situation came from Louis Monic, a Cajun musician who is part of the Hungarian community through his better half, Sue, who is one of the main organizers behind the Harvest Dance. Louis is a guitar player, and he plays with his son, who plays drums, and his grandson who is an accordion prodigy. Here's what he had to say:

"I'm going to tell you something, all my family has to move out  since they're from south of Lafayette [which is Cajun country]. We were lucky since we just lost electricity for two weeks. We lost some shingles and our car port."       

"We didn't have electricity or running water. We went to Sue's mom because she had an artesian well [which doesn't need electricity]. With all the misery of people dying in New Oreans, do you know when I stood under that cold water, I started crying. That's how much I appreciated that water running over my body. How many people would want to have a cup to drink. That felt very weird."

"We'll lose money, but I have my two feet and my two arms. We had a gig and it was very very hot, but I saw a lot of happy faces."       

It seems like most New York musicians feel a personal connection to New Orleans, and I asked Lou if he felt that too. He certainly did, and his comment is that "a true musician will always try to help another    musician." I related to the disaster in New Orleans through my own experience, and there has been a tremendous outpouring by musicians who have put on benefit performances and donated instruments.

The Media, Politics, and All That       

I'm not going to give a racial analysis of the death and destruction, but I don't think it is proper to ignore the subject completely. The issue has been noticed by the press, and I'm sure most people have come to their own conclusions. Louisianans are in the midst of it, and they are more aware of the foibles of local politicians than the rest of us are. I also sensed resentment that the national press had simplified the issue of race.

But living through a disaster is more visceral than watching it on television.  People would tell me that it's much worse than it appears on TV, and in the next sentence they would complain that the media hasn't shown how helpful people are being towards each other. Negativity gets better ratings than kindness.       

The Hungarian Settlement is pretty close to New Orleans, and there are many refugees in churches and even vacant buildings. In Baton Rouge what used to be a 20 minute ride can turn into a two hour voyage. Some people have lost everything. And when I asked Sue Martin what message she had for the rest of the world, she said "Keep us in your prayers."

A Final Call to Action       

I am often reminded of my own experience after 9/11. I was glad to be in New York, because it is so alienating to experience something through television. One of the searing memories for me was the tremendous unity we all felt with each other. I did literally see with my own eyes Jew and Muslim go from arguing to hugging.

I want to urge people to stay involved in their local communities, however you define it. We shouldn't need a disaster to remind us of the imperative to care for our neighbors.

More photos    
Even more photos

Travel Report: Guinea "Fouta, no really..."

by Raul Rothblatt

from Jumbie Journal, February 2005

I went to Guinea for three weeks this winter to study the nyenyeru (Fulani fiddle) and help my old friend Abou Sylla put together a performance combining tap dance and traditional Guinean music and dance. (I'll write about that in a future edition of the Jumbie Journal, but in the mean time, feel free to check out the website of Féraba.)

But besides getting nyenyeru lessons, I also wanted to get a taste of the spirit of Fouta Djallon, a mountainous region in the northern part of Guinea. The nyenyeru is a Fulani instrument, and even though there are many Fulas in Conakry, and the best players are there, it didn't seem right for me to play the instrument without visiting its home.

My first thought was that I'd go with a nephew of my teacher, Sambou Oury Barry. During my first trip, he proved to be a generous soul, and he has never failed to be kind and gracious friend, as well as a great musician. But it was not possible to go with him or his family, and one thing you learn very quickly in West Africa is that it is a waste of time to try to force something to happen that isn't working.

I was at a loss for what to do. I didn't even know where to go in Fouta Djallon. But I did have the phone number of El Hassan Diallo, brother of my buddy from Brooklyn, Alfa Diallo. So I gave him a call, and then the magical side of Conakry took over. It turns out that he lived about 200 yards away from Samba Oury, and so  we met, and we quickly found a solution to my problem. El Hassan is a great guy, and he's not only friendly, and articulate, well informed and helpful, he's also a joker. Though the next time he asks if he's better looking than his brother, I'm going to have to say that his grandfather outshines them both combined.

It was decided that would travel to the town Dalaba in Fouta Djallon with El Hadj,  a cousin of El Hassan. My two America friends Andy and Lisa also wanted to go, so the four of us rented a car, and headed off. It's supposed to be a 5 hour drive from Conakry to Dalaba, but what is a road trip in West Africa without the car breaking down? You get to look forward to the car breaking down, and we ended up getting help from random strangers who saw our disabled vehicle, and we got to stop in random little villages along the way. But our car was not fated to make the trip, and we had to negotiate a second taxi, with the "help" of the entire town of Linsan.

But we did make it, and soon El Hadj and his family put us up in a house owned by someone living in Europe. El Hadj showed us around Dalaba and then took us to Dunkimanya, the small town nearby where he was from. We got there by taking a shared taxi and then walking for 20 minutes through the countryside. We came across a lovely shaded path with large mango trees that were planted a hundred years ago by the French colonialists (which was about the only good thing they seemed to have done.) We then turned down a rustic path with fences made from woven palm leaves. We finally arrived at his family's cozy compound.

Before leaving for Guinea, my buddy Alfa Diallo back in Brooklyn had borrowed my camcorder. Just by chance, he left a tape in the machine, which ended being tremendously good luck because all of his family got to see his life in the US. So I took a bunch of photos of everyone looking at my camcorder. We then walked over and had the honor of meeting the patriarch of the family.

I was still doing my best to hear as much music as possible. So we went out dancing at the club of the Nyamakalas (traditional musicians, like griots but I don't think it's hereditary), which was a smoky bar with a loud synthesized keyboard, and an earthy, funky fun dance vibe. There were negotiations with the nyamakalas before they agreed to come perform at our place. Then when they saw I was a musician and  studying the nyenyeru, we hit it off and the evening ended up being a big party.

After a few days, Andy and Lisa headed on to Kindia, and I stayed. I had a lesson with Wouga, and I got to see more sites of Dalaba, including the Palabres hut and other artifacts of the 1930s when Dalaba was the favorite place for the colonial rulers to vacation.

Dalaba was very relaxed, and a great relief from the craziness of Conakry. But it also had another great advantage: no mosquitoes. It did get cold at night, and don't go there without bringing a sweater.

And if you've read this far, you'll get to know what the title is all about. Next time you meet a Fulani from Fouta Djallon-they are all around New York, and half of them are named Diallo-you can say "Fouta no welli" which means "Fouta is great." And in case you can't remember that, just think of "Fouta no really."

See dozens of photos of Fouta Djallon from Raul's trip

Travel Report: A Great Night in Guinea with Ba Cissoko

by Raul Rothblatt

from Jumbie Journal, December 2004

I had a lot of great times when I was in Guinea last year, but one night stands out: April 13, 2003. That's the night I convinced my friends Saadet and Mamadou to each travel 30 kilometers to an unknown music club with me to hear the band Ba Cissoko.

I knew I had to go because my good friend and collaborator Sylvain Leroux would be there, and because was leaving Guinea and I had to say goodbye. What I didn't know was who was going to play, or, uh, where exactly the venue was…

So somehow we found the venue, and luckily it's an outdoors courtyard space with a stage protected by a thatched roof. (Most nightclubs in Guinea have great music, but are indoors and don't really have ventilation.) As usual, we're the only white folk there (well, Saadet's not white. She is of Turkestani roots, grew up in Turkey and has been living in Zurich for 20 years, and she is worthy of a couple issues of the Jumbie Journal....).

Saadet and Sylvain

Then the band starts playing, and I could not believe my ears. I had met some of the band members through Sylvain - we had run into each other at an instrument builder's shop and at Conakry's hippest restaurant, and they just seemed like nice kids. I knew they were from a super prestigious kora playing family. But they were doing this wild classical Mande music meets Jimi Hendrix thing. I had never seen a kora played with a wawa pedal, but this was not a novelty act. You could instantly tell they were serious musicians when the djembe player knew how to play quietly. Djembe players are not known for their subtle dynamics.

But Sylvain was dancing like a madman. He was doing things with his flute that are not allowed in polite company. He was on fire on stage and off. Before long we were all dancing.   

Sylvain jams with Ba Cissoko

So these kora playing "kids," the Cissokos, are in their 20s. But then the younger kids came out. The teenagers were doing rap and reggae, and it had the same amazing vibe.

I constantly feel like I have to justify the mission of Jumbie and tell people that you CAN be innovative and traditional at the same time. But I knew seeing the new Cissoko generation that it's possible. Okay, I have to get a little corny, but hearing them play gave me more hope for humanity. Humans can be pretty petty pathetic creatures, but we're also capable of great beauty. And that beauty will always be reinvented by every generation in every city.

Read David Rogers's review of Ba Cissoko's CD "Sabolan"