Drum Call

Artist: Nurudafina Pili Abena Label: Ladyslipper Category: Music Average customer rating: Media: Audio CD UPC: 023234011420 EAN: 0023234011420 ASIN: B0000000AB Release Date: 1996-08-20

Listmania:

1. West African percussion in the US and Africa

Tracks:

1. Orisa Call: Elegba
2. Orisa Call: Ogun
3. Orisa Call: Yemaya
4. Orisa Call: Oshun
5. Orisa Call: Shango
6. Orisa Call: Oduduwa
7. Orisa Call: Elegba (closing)
8. Djembe Call: Wollosodong
9. Djembe Call: Lamba
10. Djembe Call: Mandiane
11. La Rumbera
12. Drum Call

Customer Reviews:

DRUM CALL.......2003-04-18

Spirit in the Music.......2001-02-14

First up, I need to be clear about my own connection to this work. Nuru was my first teacher of Afro-Cuban and West African percussion and I would not have entered the world of African and African American percussion had it not been for her special brand of teaching, encouragement, fervor and clarity about the need to come to the music correct.

Nuru was one of Baba Olatunji's original students in Boston, and she has carried on his legacy and transmitted it through to many many of us in the following generation. This album is noteworthy on its own merits as a musical creation but it is also a tribute to Nuru's struggles and her ability to rise above prejudice as a woman, as an African American and as a performer and teacher of traditional West African and African diasporan drum music.

The album is evenly split between traditional Mande drum music and Afro-Cuban sacred rhythms and songs. The Mande tracks are straight-up old-school arrangements of some of the classics of djembe and dun dun drum music as taught by the first and second waves of teachers who re-introduced African drumming to the United States. Nuru's arrangements and performance here are clear, accurate and compelling. Her solos are beautifully constructed and well worth repeated listening.

It's become fashionable among some people to belittle the early pioneers of Manding music in the US. To my way of thinking, such criticisms are mean-spirited and foolish. To begin with, for those in the African American community, drum and dance were about reconnection to Africa within the US context. If the arrangement you learned was not exactly the same as the ones played in some specific place or village, that was not so important. Secondly, if not for the elders, we would not have the music today. The new generations of hotshots from Mali, Guinea and Senegal would have no students if the old heads had not been here to till the ground and plant the seeds.

The second half of the album consists of wonderful renditions of orisa songs and rhythms. Nuru's study with some of the greats of Afro-Cuban music such as los Munequitos de Matanzas and the renowned akpwon Lazaro Ros are clearly evident from these tracks, and her own personal commitment and sincerity come through most brightly here in the album.

I would recommend this album to anyone who is interested in rhythm and spirit, whether traditionally-oriented or otherwise. Like its creator, this album has a wealth of talent and inspiriation, and has a great deal to teach the willing listener.

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