The drum, with its ancient rhythmic beat, began as a necessity for communication among villages, warnings of danger, rituals, and ceremonies throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East. In the 21st century, the drum remains an integral part of the world’s music panorama. On Feb. 27, master percussionist Chief Baba Neil Clarke will present a unique solo African drum performance, he calls the Brooklyn Bougarabou Project. It takes place at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem (58 West 129th Street), 2-3 p.m., a free weekly afternoon jazz series sponsored by the Jazz Foundation of America.
“My solo project represents the virtue of the African drum as a musical instrument,” said Clarke. “It gives audiences an opportunity to appreciate the African drum, one on one, a chance to hear the true resonance of the drum.” Clarke’s solo will be infused with 30 selected poems including from Amiri Baraka and Nikki Giovanni. Piano solos have become standard over the years but as a reference for African drum solos we have Babatunde Olatunji and the master of Senegal’s traditional drum (sabar), Doudou N’Diaye Rose.
Clarke has studied with Chief Bey, Baba Ishangi, Olukose Wiles, and with Master drummers Ladji Camara from Guinea, Souleye Diop from Senegal, Julito Collazo from Cuba and Dom Um Romao from Brazil. “By the time I got to Africa, I was playing professionally and had already been to Brazil and Cuba. My first trip to Africa was with Letta Mbulu to the Ivory Coast in 1982,” explained the percussionist. “I have been to a least 12 countries throughout Africa over a total of 22 trips that have included Northern, Southern, West and Eastern-Central Africa. I have always played with the traditional musicians and studied whenever I could.”
Clarke is a third generation Brooklyn native. “My grandfather was born in the area of Weeksville (a historic neighborhood founded by free Blacks which is today a part of Brooklyn’s Crown Heights). He, Randy Weston [pianist and composer], and I all went to the same elementary school (P.S. 83).” It was the replacement for “Colored school #2″ and before that, the “African Free school” built previously on the same grounds.
In this presentation of his Brooklyn Bugarabou project, Neil Clarke abstracts, contemporizes, and unveils traditional West African drum resonances as sonic pathways to deeper breath and higher consciousness.
Harlem’s own jazz impresario Berta Indeed will celebrate her birthday in grand Renaissance fashion harking back to those days when jazz permeated the Harlem sky and every tune was a sigh of hipness, on Feb. 27 at Londel’s Supper Club (2620 Frederick Douglass Blvd.), 7-11 p.m.
She will be joined by a group of talented friends, Great Women that Matter, featuring the enthralling vocal stylings of Cynthia Scott, Antoinette Montague, Lady Catrese, and Ghanniyya Green. These famed singers will be accompanied by an outstanding rhythm section featuring recent Mellon Fellowship awardee pianist and composer Bertha Hope, bassist Kim Clarke, and drummer Lucianna Padmore.
Shhhh! There are already whispers that this may be one of the most swinging Harlem birthday parties of the year. It’s pretty evident this captivating all-female union is surely a special affair, and celebrating Berta’s special day, who for over three-decades has distinguished herself as one of Harlem’s pioneer independent jazz promoters, makes it sho nuff special. For reservations, call Berta at 646-705-2932.
The renowned guitarist Ed Cherry is always a pleasure to see explosive and sublime. On March 3, he leads a trio at Manhattan’s intimate jazz club Mezzrow (163 West 10th Street Bsmt). He opens the evening with two sets at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Cherry, who has recorded a number of albums as leader, is recognized as a first call musician having worked with the likes of Pulitzer Prize music winner Henry Threadgill, Jon Faddis, Charles Tolliver, and vocalist Paula West. Many of the older jazz heads can recall his long luminous association (1973-1993) with the legendary Dizzy Gillespie. For more information visit smallslive.com.
Another South African pianist, Thembi Dunjana, who has established herself as a rising star in Cape Town’s jazz scene is continuing to expand her fan base in America and performed on Feb. 25 for one night only at Dizzy’s jazz club (10 Columbus Circle). For two shows at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Dunjana was joined by relatively new voices on the jazz scene — except for drummer Jerome Jennings, who while still rising is recognized as an able drummer. The quintet was rounded out with alto saxophonist Zoe Obadia, vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu, bassist Tim Norton, and drummer Jerome Jennings. Drawing from such South African legends as Moses Molelekwa and Bheki Mseleku, Thembi, a former student at the University of Cape Town, returned to Dizzy’s pairing her original compositions with fresh arrangements of McCoy Tyner’s classic masterworks.