Sharing the Rhythms of Life
Whether it’s pop-flavored country, blues-tinged rock or alterna-punk-ska, musical hybrids have become all the rage.
Even the Chieftains, those much-revered ambassadors of traditional Irish music, have used countless guest musicians to spice up their folk songs with elements of country, pop and rock.
At least one West African group, though, refuses to dilute its sound. Khalle Ngewel Chi Keur Ghi (“Young Griots of the House”) uses sabar, the traditional dance and drum music of Senegal, to share the rich culture of the Wolof ethnic group. Its members perform tonight at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library.
The ngewels--or griots--are oral historians who hand down Wolof legends, myths and proverbs from one generation to the next.
The performances, which resemble ballets, depict scenes from everyday life, such as marriage and childbirth celebrations, combat and healing rituals, and traditional dance and drum parties. Featuring authentic, colorful costumes, Khalle Ngewel Chi Keur Ghi is led by artistic director, drummer and dancer Aziz Faye. The 10-member group also features sabar (hand-and-stick), djembe (hand-drum) and djun-djun (big-barrel bass) drummers and five dancers.
Drumming and dancing were simply a way of life for Faye, one of 17 siblings growing up in Medina, a ngewel suburb of Dakar.
“I started drumming when I was 4, and by the time I was 6, my dad told me what I was doing wrong and explained the different rhythms to me,” Faye said in a recent interview.
“My grandfather and uncles taught me a lot, too. For as long as I can remember, I was either watching them play, playing with them or drumming by myself.”
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After mastering sabar, Faye studied the djembe style of the Mandinka people of southern Senegal. He has performed as a dancer and drummer with numerous ballet companies, including Le Ballet National du Senegal.
Faye also has been in a number of contemporary Afro-pop bands (Fallou Diene, Baba Mal, Yousou N’dour) and toured with veteran rocker Peter Gabriel.
“Life is hard in Senegal, and people will call the griots to come and make them happy,” said Alecia Hudson, Faye’s romantic partner and one of the troupe’s dancers. “The griots sing and dance. . . . They can be overtly sexual and poke fun at people. They’re very humorous and know how to talk in rhymes and riddles to make people laugh. It’s not like in the [United States]--there’s no audience-performer division. It’s music for the people, and everyone becomes part of the act over there.”
Faye has dabbled in modern sounds over the years while playing in various pop, jazz and folk ensembles. But the focus of Khalle Ngewel Chi Keur Ghi remains traditional.
Staying true to one’s roots can be quite a challenge.
“Sabar is often misunderstood by those outside of Senegal,” Hudson said. “It’s not a spontaneous, anything-goes kind of thing. . . . It’s quite an involved and technical art form. There are rules within the drumming and dance, so there’s only a limited amount of improvisation going on.”
The group’s driving force is in the variety of its rhythms, from the slow-paced yaba to the extremely fast-moving thebudgin, a creation of the newest generation of griots. At times, all drummers will break from their own beats to simultaneously play the same rhythms, or baks, which serve as a bridge between each drummer’s separate rhythms.
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Among the selections on tap tonight is a dance that has personal meaning for Faye and Hudson.
“ ‘Mbara Mbaye’ is a rhythm and dance that’s part of the mbukuta ceremony, which is done when children are born into Aziz’s family,” she said. “I just got back from Senegal, where this ceremony was performed for our 1-year-old daughter, Adja. It’s really an important ritual because it spiritually connects our new child to the Faye family . . . and bestows blessings of protection and success.”
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Both parents and child now live in Los Angeles’ Hancock Park neighborhood while Hudson studies visual anthropology at USC. Faye, who feels homesick without his parents and siblings, said he finds a degree of solace in some valuable words of advice from his father, a longtime master Senegalese drummer.
“He told me, ‘Respect what you do every time you play sabar. Work at it strong and hard. . . . Give it all of your energy, no matter who you’re playing for and how tired you get. Do a complete job, and you shall be rewarded.’ ”
* Presented by the Multicultural Arts Series, Khalle Ngewel Chi Keur Ghi performs today at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library, 31495 El Camino Real. 7 and 9 p.m. $3-$6. (949) 248-7469.