Mamadou at the Middle East

PerfomerMag, www.performermag.com
By Kerry Skemp - February 8, 2008

CAMBRIDGE— When Mamadou Diop took the stage, it was clear he was totally ready to rock. Decked out in a full camouflage-safari outfit, complete with a safari vest, and pith helmet, Diop was more than prepared to lead his audience on a journey through a musical jungle of Afro-Caribbean grooves backed up by traditional West African drums. And that's just what he did, rocking the Middle East with fast drumbeats and joyful guitar chords. Diop kept the evening upbeat but not sappy, advising audience members to "Stay your own self," and backing up his positive attitude with vibrant sounds.

A native of Senegal, Diop now lives in the Boston area but tours the world sharing Mamadou's wide-ranging but technically focused musical stylings. At the Middle East, the band revealed Caribbean, Spanish, and even Asian influences while maintaining a steady African beat. Band members played offset rhythms on a variety of drums, creating a richly textured mixture of rhythmic tones. Guitars and keyboard bass rounded out the band's infectiously nuanced sound. Diop and his band sang in Wolof (an African language prevalent in Senegal), English, French, and Spanish, making for a performance that was globally focused in lyrics as well as sounds.

In addition to a standard drum kit, capably manned by Mitch Cohen, Mamadou played a number of traditional African drums. Diouck handled the tama, or talking drum, a small drum that's held under the arm and made to "talk" or play various pitches by squeezing the strings of the drum. While he elicited frantic "talk" from the tama, Diouck also manned the sabar drum, a djembe-like drum native to Senegal. Mamadou also featured Michelle Cherie on djembes, Adam Zampino on keyboard bass, Pavel Jirka on lead guitar, and of course Mamadou Diop himself on electric guitar and various drums. Two guest drummers also played.

The band's enthusiasm was impressive. Diop's dance rhythms were so intense that his hat flew off his head a few times Surprisingly, this couldn't quite get the crowd going. In fact, the crowd was perhaps the least pleasant aspect of this performance. Mamadou is a remarkably energetic band that makes unique music with driving beats; it's too bad the Middle East crowd wasn't up to the challenge of moving with those rhythms.