Musicians

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Singers and Players

This page now mentions all the players I have photos of on this website - you are all stars :-)

Master Drummers: Mamady Keita, Sidiki Dembele, Jean-Marie Keita, Ade Wallace, David Oladunni, Osibisa and Craig Morrison
Dartington International Summer School: Ashanti court drumming, Ensemble Bash and jazz quintet
My own musical projects: The Naked Truth, Secret Bass, Vitae Drum Circle, Canopus Percussion Ensemble, Mundo Pequeno and DJ Spock
Jamming with friends and Birthday celebrations
Other musicians: Crooked Sixpence, Toque Tambor, The Lani Singers, Mambesak Group and Grizzly Walking Thunder

Master Drummers

Here are pictures of some of the master drummers I've met. Others I've studied with who are not pictured include the wonderful Fats Ramoba Mogoboya and his singer wife Nomsa (from Ladysmith Black Mambazo), Vieux Bakayoko, Baba Kone, Famoudou Konate's nephew Nansady Keita, Seckou Keita, Landing Mane, Moctar "Mocolo" Sawane, Yaw Asumadu, the last five of whom I studied with at African Beats Camp.

Mamady Keita, undisputed djembe master of Earth, came over to England to teach us in May 2008. Check my report now with pictures...

Djembefola and ngoni player Sidiki Dembele with his "son", dununfola Yahael Camara-Onono.

Famoudou Konate, Iya Sako, Drumzkool and Senegambian concert at African Drum Village 2007 in Scotland.

While in Senegal we were lucky enough to study with Jean-Marie Keita, Malo Sonko and Appai - a great dancer and dun dun player.

Adesose Wallace leading a jubilant crowd at the height of the final ceremony of the Tribe of Doris festival in 1998.

After we tracked him down in 2004, Ade came to The Strawbale Studio a few times to teach us his wonderful music.

This drumming workshop in Leeds was held as a tribute to the late great Musa Suma, led by Adesose Wallace and other teachers.

The Master Drummers of Africa, photographed (hand-held at 1/8 second!) by Craig Morrison at London's South Bank Centre in 1996. From left to right are three of my teachers: (seated) Mamadi Kamara, ?, Nana Tsiboe, David Oladunni, and ? (standing).

Craig Morrison, my spiritual brother and fellow Canopus percussionist now based in Sydney, Australia.

Afrofunk masters Osibisa playing at The Horn in St. Albans.

Dartington International Summer School

Rehearsing and performing drum music of the Ashanti Court at Dartington 2001, under the direction of Johnson Kwadzo Kemeh from the University of Ghana.

Playing samba music in the sunshine with Ensemble Bash at Dartington 2000.

Jazz Quintet at Dartington 2001 in laid-back mode, and then putting our heads together to contemplate our upcoming disc of Mati Caspi and Ray Charles numbers. Clockwise from bottom left is singer Dafna Dori from Jerusalem, bassoonist Jim Pywell and double bassist Sally Clark from Halifax, pianist Rene Schelldorfer from Switzerland, then me.

My own musical projects

The Cast and The Minstrels from the production of T.S. Eliot's play "Murder In The Cathedral" staged in Essendon Church, Hertfordshire, on 2000-03-26.