Andy Algire - balafon and keys
Peter Barr - drumset
Nicolas Cudahy - bass
Brian Glashow - percussion
Ismael "Bon Fils" Kouyate - vocals/dance
Mamady "Djelike" Kouyate - lead guitar/musical director
Mamady Korouma- guitar
"If you step into a New York club where the Mandingo Ambassadors (Ambassedeurs du Manding) are playing, and close your eyes, you go back in time, and across the Atlantic to Guinea, West Africa, in the 1960s. In the flush of Guinea’s independence from France, visionary African dictator Sekou Touré used music to forge a national identity. He funded bands from all over the country, selecting the most talented players through rigorous competitions, and “nationalizing” top bands in state-supported nightclubs in the capital, Conkakry. Although the Mandingo Ambassadors consist of four Guineans and four Americans (most of whom have studied music in Guinea), the sound is, as founder and lead guitarist Mamady Kouyaté proudly proclaims, “100-percent Manding” with mellifluous, Latin-tinged rhythms and vocal melodies, and fleet, stinging electric guitar lines drawn from Guinea’s centuries-old traditions of Manding music."
= Banning Eyre, Guitar Player Magazine, October, 2006
wanted to invite you to our big comeback show on 3/25 @ the knitting factory with pistolera opening up. it's our first show in nyc since october and our last one before recording in LA. would be great to see you there!!
