Cheik Hamala Diabate and Bob Carlin / From Mali to America - CD Home Page | Newest Releases More music from Mali and American roots

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Cheik Hamala Diabate and Bob Carlin From Mali to America (5 String Productions) $15.99 The meeting of clawhammer banjo ace Carlin and west African griot Diabate, master of the ngoni of Mali connects the dots between the 5-string banjo and its African ancestors. With special guest Solo Tounkara on guitar. Extensive notes on the artists and the tunes in English and French. Listen: From Mali to America N'be Magni Baba Cissoko Danaya/Jonny Booker Boudafo

More info: From Mali to America blends the musical traditions of West Africa and America. Since the American banjo grew from Western African roots, this exploration should come as no surprise. What is surprising is that it has taken this long for the ngoni and banjo to join together to explore and illuminate this obscure corner of American musical history. This collaboration by masters from two musical cultures features a dialogue that blends seamlessly and demonstrates the common roots of their music and instruments. Bob Carlin's masterful banjo playing is incorporated into the traditional Malian ensemble which provides the foundation for Cheick Hamala's improvisations. From Mali to America features the playing of Cheick Hamala on ngoni, guitar, left-handed banjos made by Pete Ross and Gold Tone tuned like the Malian Griot lute. Bob Carlin plays a gourd banjo made by Pete Ross/Jubilee Banjo; a minstrel banjo made by George Wunderlich/Wunder Banjo Company; and a Gold Tone BC-350 Bob Carlin model banjo. Special guest Solo Tounkara plays guitar on five tracks. Cheick Hamala Diabaté is recognized as one of the world's masters of the ngoni, a Malian traditional instrument and a West African historian in the Griot tradition. A sought after performer, lecturer, storyteller and choreographer throughout Africa, Europe, Asia and Canada, Cheick Hamala began touring in the U.S. in 1995. His performances have been featured at such notable venues as The Smithsonian Institute and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A steward of the 800 year-old tradition of the Griot, the storytellers of West Africa, Cheick Hamala shares the oral history, music and song of his culture as it was passed on to him from birth by parent to child. At an early age, Cheick Hamala easily mastered the ngoni, a stringed lute and ancestor to the banjo. He learned to play the guitar from his uncle and now plays banjo and several other instruments; but his renown remains with the historical ngoni. As early as age 12, he was invited to the National Institute of Arts in Bamako, Mali's Capital, where he studied music, graphic arts, cinema, literature and theatre. He began his international performing career upon graduation. Cheick Hamala works with notable traditional African dance companies based in the U.S. serving as instructor, choreographer and performer. He also performs solo and with his ensemble playing traditional Manding Griot instruments. His music always reflects the historical integrity of an important art form with a rich tradition stretching back hundreds of years to the formation of the Great Malian Empire. Bob Carlin is probably the best known clawhammer style banjoist performing today. He has taken the distinctive southern banjo style to appreciative audiences all over the US, Canada and Europe. Carlin is a three-time winner of the Frets Magazine readers poll, and has four Rounder albums and several instruction manuals and videos for the banjo. Bob is not only highly sought after for his musical talent, but for his amazing skill as a producer for the music industry as well. He has produced a large number of CDs that are well-known to all.

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