Mokhtar Samba - African Rhythms and Independence for Drumset

Mokhtar Samba - African Rhythms and Independence for Drumset (with CD)



Looking for new grooves? Here are some of the most interesting and powerful rhythms in the world. No matter if you play jazz, rock, funk, or worldbeat, this book will give you a new sense of coordination, confidence and swing. Each rhythmic group is broken down in clear western notation that will guide you step-by-step in mastering these new feels and concepts. This is the book the the pros have been raving about and we guarantee this Book & CD will make you a better player!

Gnawa (North Africa), Maghreb (North Africa), Mangambe (Cameroon), Bikutsi (Cameroon), Doudoumba (Guinea & Mali), Sabar (Senegal)

Pages: 48
Publisher: Music in Motion Films; 1st edition (February 23, 2001)
Language: English/French
ISBN-10: 0967309816
ISBN-13: 978-0967309811


Review

As Mokhtar Samba explains in the introduction to this excellent book, there were no drumset players in African bands as recently as fifteen years ago. But by now an African kit tradition has been established, and Samba who s played with, among others, Youssou N Dour and Jean-Luc Ponty takes the clearest, most direct route toward explaining it to a new audience. Much like Afro-Cuban drumset patterns, the exercises in African Rhythms are hand-percussion phrases adapted for the kit. The book is divided into six sections according to regional musical style. (Mali/Guinea, Senegal, Cameroon, and North Africa are represented.)

Many of Samba's beats feature fairly simple mechanics, while some of the polyrhythmic material is downright tough. (Wisely, difficult rhythms are broken up into building blocks.) Either way, the patterns can be tricky for those unused to African concepts like, say, the placement of hi-hat accents in Gnawa music. The exercises also require a particular loose-limbed feel that falls between straight and swung time. That s why the companion CD is pure gold: On it, Samba plays many of the book s beats, with and without hand-drumming accompaniment. This ensures that the student never drifts too far out to sea. Samba often ends the recorded examples with short fills that are not written into the exercises. Though this may be confusing at first, the fills give the player an idea of how to authentically embellish what is presumably an exotic drumming style.

--Michael Parillo, Modern Drummer Magazine


About the Author

Mokhtar Samba is an explosive and intellegent drummer who has recorded and toured with world music superstars, Salief Keita, Youssou N'Dour, Henri Dikongue, Carlinhos Brown, Richard Bona, Tama, Ultramarine, Joe Zawinul, Graham Haynes, Nguyen Le, and Jean-Luc Ponty.

http://www.amazon.com/African-Rhythms-Independence-Drumset-Mokhtar/dp/0967309816/