MAMADOU AND VANESSA, Winner, World Traditional Song, "Ay Masilan"

Home= Mali, West Africa

BEHIND THE MUSIC:

---Twenty-five years ago Mamadou played a groundbreaking role in transforming the music of this region from it's origins in hunters' sacred melodies--played on six string donso ngoni (hunter's harps)-- to a music of philosophical observations, politics and daily life.

---He has recently enhanced the kamale ngoni even further, by creating 10 and 12 string kamale ngoni.

---Vanessa Sidibe, originally from New York, is an accomplished Afro- Cuban and Salsa musician. She has performed, recorded and taught in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City for over fifteen years. She brings earthy depth and ethereal sensuality to all her vocals whether singing in English, Bambara or Spanish. In addition, her time spent in Havana, Cuba, shows with her impeccable rhythm on percussion.


WATCH MAMADOU AND VANESSA PERFORM LIVE: