Guinea Music

"Guinea Music" - Photos by Len Mackey; Music by Mamoudou "Delmundo" Keita. Guinea is a West African nation, composed of several ethnic groups. Of these, the music of the Mande has been particularly popular and internationally well-known, even outside of West Africa. Mande music is strongly influenced by the jelis, West Africa’s hereditary praise singer-historians. The traditional Mande drum ensemble includes the cylindrical dunun paired with the goblet shaped djembe. In Guinea, the typical Mande patterns have been combined with other rhythms, resulting in a distinctive national style. The late, great dunun player Mamoudou "Delmundo" Keita, who taught in the Hamana-style from Upper Guinea, made one CD "House of Roots."