Mali Kan

West African Music and Culture with International Percussionist Rusty Eklund
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Weekly Radio Programming

Mali Kan West African Music, Thur. 6-8 pm
Beat of the World Mon. and Fri. 2-3 pm
On the air in Des Moines, Iowa at 99.1 FM
 
 
  Rusty Eklund's "Tribal, Tropical, Fusion" group.
Incorporating music and instruments from West
Africa, Arabia, Persia, and S. America/Caribbean.
Mali Culture
1000 years of musical evolution
 

 
     The music of Mali is arguably the most precious cultural jewel of the former Mande Empire. Malian music incorporates numerous styles, dozens of instruments, world-renowned singing, dynamic dancing, and a musicological evolution on par with the most respected musical traditions of Europe, the Caribbean, and India. The traditions of West Africa are widely accepted as being the source for American blues music and the culture of transplanted Africans has permeated most every form of Western popular music.
    
     The musical integrity of their traditional forms, and the modern fusion that Malian and foreign artists are driving has brought the music of this West African nation to the forefront of the world music scene.
 
A Few Popular Malian Musical Styles
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rusty Eklund with Jeli Lamine Soumano at VCU '07

 
The Mali Kan Program

As a certified teacher I have spent the past decade examining the Malian forms and how their music is integrated into soceity, their cultural and educational "institutions", and what is the best way to present this music in the context of other cultures (Occidental, Oriental, Latino, etc.)

 

Percussion Instructional Repertoire

- Introductory Percussion (Ages 3-adult)

- Professional Percussion

- Jenbe Ensemble (beginner to advanced)

- Bamana Drum Arrangements

 

Instrumental Instructional Repertoire

- Jeli and Guitar Ensemble Music

- Kamel N'Goni

 

Introductory Percussion

Rhythmic concepts, introductory hand and stick patterns, basic ensemble arrangements.

 

Professional Percussion

Instruction in placing West African drums in support of instrumental ensembles. This instructional series incorporates rhythms plus improvisations for each instrument.

Instrumentation includes the jenbe, jeli dununba, ballet dununs (mallet drums), nanga (bell), n'tama (talking) drums, calabash, koro koro (log drum), kerenyen (metal scraper), yabara (gourd shaker).

 

Djembe, Dunun, N'taman Ensemble

Core instruction for the jenbe ensemble includes jenbe accompaniment, konkoni accompaniment, call, 3 solo phrases unique to each rhythm, and for advancd players dununba lead phrasing. Instruction is rooted in the three main rhythmic families. Pedagogical approach is to solidify a player's knowledge and technique in the Malian repertoire, providing a "classical" base for understanding a wider range of lead technique, playing styles, and forms of music, thus preparing the student for advanced/professional studies with West African master drummers.


Suku

 

Dansa
Maraka
Madan
Gerankeh

Moribayassa

Numu
Korojuga
Ferabanka

Fula

Komo
Manjani
N'grii
Sunu/12-8
Wolosso

Bonkolo

Tama

Donkono


Bamana

Jon Foly
Bara
Fula Foly

 

Chiwara

Somono Foly

Korojuga Foly


West African Guitar and Jeli (Griot) Ensemble - Kora, N'goni, Bala, Percussion

 

Mali Sadjo

Sunjatta

Janjon

Mansani Cisse

Bani

Famaden

Bemankan

Tara

Sackodugu

Salimou

Rusty Eklund
International Musician/Teacher 

Rusty Eklund is an international musician presenting the instruments, culture and musicology of the West African people, highlighting more than a 13 years of study and performance with master musicians. Eklund spent the better part of a decade in Mali and Guinea and holds a BA in Mathematics and Ethnomusicology. Currently, he is teaching and performing in the Des Moines, IA area.

    • University Lecture Series
    • Performances
    • Drumming and Song Workshops
    • Performance/Educational Materials
    • School Programs 

Instruments in the Mali Kan store, Bamako, Mali