Tonight, Ivi and Lawrence attend a performance of the EOU African Drumming Ensemble on stage with guest musicians One World Drum and Dance, featuring Guinea, West Africa fourth generation master flutist (with drumming and singing skills as well) Mamady Mansare and One World’s dancer Sarah Lee Parker and kora player Tyler (missed the last name). And, of course, the EOU Ensemble includes the drumming prowess of Olivia, Ivi’s close friend from high school band days.
This performance was a freebie in a small recital room, but was definitely worthy of an admission price. Lots of call & response audience involvement happened, too. I am a big fan of the kora (think Toumani Diatabe playing with Ali Farka Toure, or Bill Frisell’s The Intercontinentals), so we were especially taken by Mamady’s vocals backed by Tyler’s kora instrumentation. And Sarah Lee Parker’s dancing was truly something to witness. By the way, Mamady Mansare IV and his father, Mamady Mansare III, are all over YouTube in videos mostly featuring their flute work in African venues. Mamady also is a member of Les Ballets Africains.
At one juncture, the One World threesome stood on the stage, as Mamady spoke at length to the audience, while Sarah Lee translated from his French. Ivi reports that she especially enjoyed this interlude, as she could readily understand him sans translation.
Guess we will have to give you a taste of it all, if you can pardon the unfortunate OOF and other quality-deficient aspects of the unplanned video snippets from a pocket camera.