Mamady Kouyate- from Guinea to New York.
Mamady Kouyate is a guitar virtuoso who hails from Guinea, West Africa. Influencing Guinean music for over 40 years, he now resides outside of New York City where he continues to direct, compose and lead in his band, The Mandingo Ambassadors, as well as other Mandingo bands in the region. He not only plays music, but educates people about politics, history and music of his country in museums and schools across the United States.
Born in 1956 into a prominent family lineage of jali musicians. Mamady's father was a master kora player and his uncle played balafon, while other family members played several of these, including the tamanding (small talking drum) and the guitar. Mamady was raised playing several instruments, but switched to guitar by the age of 12. After school, he would run home to finish his homework before sneaking off with a relative's guitar to practice by himself. He taught himself how to transpose the traditional songs his family played onto the strings of the guitar, inventing a new style of his own. He was also the first in this village to understand European style chords and notes.
By the age of 15, the people of his village, Douako in the Kouroussa prefecture, recognized Mamady's unsurpassable talent, and they called on him to play at all village ceremonies and festivals. He earned the position of first jali musician of the village.
Soon after, Mamady became a product of a National Cultural Movement called "Authenticité" created by the first president, Ahmed Sekou Touré, after Guinea gained Independence from France in 1958. During this nation-making movement, the Touré regime started a program to identify young musical talent in each prefecture of Guinea. Those with recognizable talent would compete in region-wide competitions to form regional orchestras, to which participants received government salary. The best of the regional participants played in the national orchestra in Conakry, Guinea's capital.
Mamady went to his first regional competitions in Kourroussa at the age of 17. During the course of two weeks, he took first place again and again, as the competition narrowed, landing him a permanent position in the regional Orchestre de Kourroussa called Super Tropical Jali Band The year was 1973. In 1974 Mamady graduated high school and went off to the Institute Polytechnique in Kankan to study Agro-engineering. Six years later, after graduation, he became the chef d'orchestre of Kourroussa. Their album entitled Tropical 1 made international fame. At the time, Mamady was making about 500 Silli or $20 per concert as a government employee.
He also began work as an Agro-Engineer in Guinea's ministry.
In 1984 Sekou Touré died and Lansana Conté became president of Guinea. He was not as interested in promoting the cultural arts and stopped payment to all regional and national musicians. Suddenly, without recourse, many of Guinea's most prominent musicians had to reformulate a way in which to keep their music alive. They began to earn money privately and split the earnings between them, but nothing was certain. Groups recorded albums, and groups fell apart. Among them were the World renowned Bembeya Jazz Orchestra.
In 1985 Medicins sans Frontiers picked up Mamady's regional band and contracted them for a tour of West Africa. At the time they had 12 musicians: 4 guitars, 1 balafon, 1 drum set, 1 mixed percussion, 3 male singers, 1 trumpet and 1 saxophone. In 1988 Mamady joined the national band, Horoya in Conakry. He played with them for 5 years.
During the 1990s, Mamady was a prominent force in the revitalization of Guinean music. He began to play with a failing Bembeya Jazz, and by 1990 he became a full-fledged member, bringing new instruments to the band and reviving them to their previous status. They made five World Tours by 2003. At the same time, Mamady founded a music school, instructing three separate women's groups in Conakry, Les Sirens, Les Guildens de Guinée, and Les Amazons, helping women to build prominent musical careers.
Mamady came to the United States in 2004 requesting political asylum. Asylum was granted and Mamady's career abroad took off. He has played in numerous African Jazz bands in New York City until forming his own, Mandingo Ambassadors, a multi-cultural Manding Jazz band whose home base, Cafe Barbes in Park Slope, Brooklyn, packs the house every Wednesday night.
For further information about Mamady's music, contact anthropologist and promoter, Lisa Feder, Ph.D, at lkfeder@gmail.com, or visit these sites:
www.myspace.com/mandingoambassadors
http://www.iasorecords.com/mandingue.cfm
www.akadiyaa.net
The Youtube video below shows Mamady Kouyate, playing a solo performance at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan on February 16, 2011 in honor of the Picasso Guitars Exhibit. The video includes excerpts from an interview Mamady gave to CUNY TV.
Born in 1956 into a prominent family lineage of jali musicians. Mamady's father was a master kora player and his uncle played balafon, while other family members played several of these, including the tamanding (small talking drum) and the guitar. Mamady was raised playing several instruments, but switched to guitar by the age of 12. After school, he would run home to finish his homework before sneaking off with a relative's guitar to practice by himself. He taught himself how to transpose the traditional songs his family played onto the strings of the guitar, inventing a new style of his own. He was also the first in this village to understand European style chords and notes.
By the age of 15, the people of his village, Douako in the Kouroussa prefecture, recognized Mamady's unsurpassable talent, and they called on him to play at all village ceremonies and festivals. He earned the position of first jali musician of the village.
Soon after, Mamady became a product of a National Cultural Movement called "Authenticité" created by the first president, Ahmed Sekou Touré, after Guinea gained Independence from France in 1958. During this nation-making movement, the Touré regime started a program to identify young musical talent in each prefecture of Guinea. Those with recognizable talent would compete in region-wide competitions to form regional orchestras, to which participants received government salary. The best of the regional participants played in the national orchestra in Conakry, Guinea's capital.
Mamady went to his first regional competitions in Kourroussa at the age of 17. During the course of two weeks, he took first place again and again, as the competition narrowed, landing him a permanent position in the regional Orchestre de Kourroussa called Super Tropical Jali Band The year was 1973. In 1974 Mamady graduated high school and went off to the Institute Polytechnique in Kankan to study Agro-engineering. Six years later, after graduation, he became the chef d'orchestre of Kourroussa. Their album entitled Tropical 1 made international fame. At the time, Mamady was making about 500 Silli or $20 per concert as a government employee.
He also began work as an Agro-Engineer in Guinea's ministry.
In 1984 Sekou Touré died and Lansana Conté became president of Guinea. He was not as interested in promoting the cultural arts and stopped payment to all regional and national musicians. Suddenly, without recourse, many of Guinea's most prominent musicians had to reformulate a way in which to keep their music alive. They began to earn money privately and split the earnings between them, but nothing was certain. Groups recorded albums, and groups fell apart. Among them were the World renowned Bembeya Jazz Orchestra.
In 1985 Medicins sans Frontiers picked up Mamady's regional band and contracted them for a tour of West Africa. At the time they had 12 musicians: 4 guitars, 1 balafon, 1 drum set, 1 mixed percussion, 3 male singers, 1 trumpet and 1 saxophone. In 1988 Mamady joined the national band, Horoya in Conakry. He played with them for 5 years.
During the 1990s, Mamady was a prominent force in the revitalization of Guinean music. He began to play with a failing Bembeya Jazz, and by 1990 he became a full-fledged member, bringing new instruments to the band and reviving them to their previous status. They made five World Tours by 2003. At the same time, Mamady founded a music school, instructing three separate women's groups in Conakry, Les Sirens, Les Guildens de Guinée, and Les Amazons, helping women to build prominent musical careers.
Mamady came to the United States in 2004 requesting political asylum. Asylum was granted and Mamady's career abroad took off. He has played in numerous African Jazz bands in New York City until forming his own, Mandingo Ambassadors, a multi-cultural Manding Jazz band whose home base, Cafe Barbes in Park Slope, Brooklyn, packs the house every Wednesday night.
For further information about Mamady's music, contact anthropologist and promoter, Lisa Feder, Ph.D, at lkfeder@gmail.com, or visit these sites:
www.myspace.com/mandingoambassadors
http://www.iasorecords.com/mandingue.cfm
www.akadiyaa.net
The Youtube video below shows Mamady Kouyate, playing a solo performance at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan on February 16, 2011 in honor of the Picasso Guitars Exhibit. The video includes excerpts from an interview Mamady gave to CUNY TV.
