Ancestral and Contemporary Music from West Africa and Beyond
Concert: Friday, January 12th, 2019, 8:00PM
Admission $25
Balafon Workshop: Sunday January 13th, 2019, 3:30 – 5:30PM
Tuition $35
Location: Center for International Dance in Berkeley
AdamaBilorou Dembele is a world-renowned West African musician and percussionist, composer, arranger, teacher and choreographer. Originally from Burkina Faso, he hails from a lineage of griots, a class of traveling musicians, storytellers, and poets who preserve the oral traditions of their culture.
He will present a concert of ancestral and contemporary music and will offer a workshop on playing the balafon at the Center for International Dance in Berkeley.
As a multi-instrumentalist, Adama composes and performs an explosive melange of musical genres inspired by his native culture, Bwaba, and infused with sounds from Europe and beyond. From street jazz to afro funk to Maridlingue melodies and rhythms, his rich grooves explore the fusion between ancestral and contemporary musical expressions. Adamaʻs exploration brings together classical, modern and traditional instruments such as the balafon, djembe, kora, dundun and talking drum, among others.
Adama has had the privilege of playing with world-class artists such as Carlos Santana, Manu Dibango, Marcus Miller, Ibraham Maalouf, Cheick Tidiane Seck, Amadou &Miriam, Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare and Alpha Blondy, to name a few. He performs and leads workshops across Europe,Africa, Asia and North America. His latest album, Ananide, is available at www.adamabilorou.com.
As a modern griot, Adama pays homage to the ancestors for their inspiration and collaboration in his musical composition.