Multiflora Productions and Rhizome present a special early evening concert with Cheick Hamala Diabate and Rumput.
Born in Mali and based in Maryland, Cheick Hamala Diabate is a steward of the 800-year-old West African griot tradition. Oral historians, singers and musicians, griots belong to a special social caste and are part of a hereditary lineage passed from parent to child. Under the tutelage of his maternal grandfather, the griot Demba Tounkara, Cheick was taught, and soon mastered, the ngoni, a traditional stringed lute considered one of the ancestors of the banjo.
Our performance will include crankies and wayang beber (scrolling artwork) by Indonesian artists and members of Rumput.
New crankie + shadow-puppetry video for our langgam keroncong arrangement of the traditional song Silver Dagger. Crankie and arrangement by Hannah; shadow theater by Andy McGraw, Jess Zike, and Noel.
Combined show of traditional wayang (Indonesian shadow theater) with Balinese master dalang Gusti Sudarta and gamelan accompaniment, followed by Rumput’s crankies and keroncong, also featuring Pak Gusti.
Rumput will perform traditional and experimental music, including a new crankie art roll about the exploits of the tobacco industry from Virginia to Indonesia. Richmond ukulele artist Stu Kindle will perform a 30-minute opening set.
