Doors at 7:30pm ~ Mbira dzaSoko at 8:00pm ~ Karamo Susso at 9:30pm
Karamo Susso
Karamo Susso is a kora player from Gambia West Africa. Growing up in a griot compound in Mali, he started playing kora as a tiny child and was performing for large crowds before he was even big enough to hold the instrument up by himself. Fully immersed in the tradition, he learned from world-renowned players like his uncles Ballake Sissoko and Toumani Diabate.
Karamo then began touring throughout West Africa, playing with such greats musicians as Ballake sissoko, Toumani Diabate, Vieux Farka Toure (son of Ali Farka Toure), and Sambou Susso the Queen of Afro-Manding. He performed for national stadiums in Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal as a featured soloist with UNESCO’s Fescuao Mali, and for the President’s personal events in The Gambia. He made frequent appearances on national TV and radio. In Gambia, he was Composition Director, advisor and lead kora player for the Female Artists’ Association in Gambia. A natural engineer, he rapidly boosted Gambian music with his production work at The Gambia YMCA, and went on to open his own studio, Kapamis Production.
Since his arrival in America, Karamo has played at university lecture halls and clubs with everyone from fellow world music stars to funk, jazz, and hip-hop groups. Audiences have been mesmerized and moved by his evocative music.
Mbira dzaSoko
Celebrate mbira music with Mbira dzaSoko-led by Zimbabwean mbira player, Salani Wamkanganise and friends
Mbira dzaSoko performs celebratory and spiritual mbira music from Zimbabwe, led by mbira maker, musician and teacher, Salani Wamkanganise, along with his musical friends. The mbira is a sacred instrument created and played by the Shona people of Zimbabwe. It is made of metal keys attached to a wooden soundboard, and usually has bottle caps or shells which help create a buzzing sound along with the tones. Mbira music instantly draws people together. Mbira music blurs the lines between audience and musicians, excluding none.
The music is celebratory-come and be transformed by the joy of Zimbabwe!